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Division 


Sev.tioo 


LECTURES 


THE    EPISTLE    OF    JAMES. 


PRINTED  BY  MURRAY  AND  GIBB 
FOR 

WILLIAM  OLIPHANT  AND  CO.,    EDINBURGH. 

HAMILTON,  ADAMS,  AND  CO LONDON. 

m'gLASHAN  and  gill, DUBLIN. 

DAVID  ROBERTSON, GLASGOW. 

/ 


lectures!*    ^^^  ^  ^-910 
EXEGETICAL  AND  PEACTICAL 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  JAMES: 


WITH   A   NEW   TRANSLATION   OF   THE   EPISTLE,    AND   NOTES  ON   THE 
GREEK   TEXT. 


Key.     EGBERT  ''jOHNSTONE,     LL.B., 

ARBROATH. 


ANSON    D.   R    RANDOLPH   &   CO., 
770  BROADWAY,   NEW  YORK. 


UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CONGREGATION 

OF 

PRINCES    STREET,    ARBROATH, 
WITH    MUCH   AFFECTION, 

BY 

THEIR  FRIEND  AND   MINISTER, 
THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


THE  aim  of  the  author,  in  writing  this  book,  has  been  to 
produce  such  an  exposition  of  the  Epistle  as  might 
be  useful  to  Christian  readers  generally,  and  might  at  the 
same  time  give  some  special  help  to  students  of  the  ori- 
ginal. These  objects  are  by  many  deemed  all  but  incom- 
patible with  each  other ;  and  certainly  there  is  very  much 
hazard,  in  trying  to  attain  both,  of  failing  to  a  considerable 
extent  to  attain  either.  But  that  the  combination,  which 
has  always  seemed  to  the  author  a  desirable  one,  ca7i  be 
made  with  success,  has  been  proved  by  the  acknowledged 
usefulness,  and  this  as  regards  both  objects,  of  several  recent 
expository  works  of  the  kind, — such,  for  example,  as  those 
of  the  late  venerated  and  beloved  Dr.  John  Brown.  In  the 
present  attempt  a  little  novelty  has  been  introduced  in  regard 
to  arrangement,  which  the  author  trusts  may  in  some  measure 
obviate  the  difficulties.  This  consists  in  the  placing  in  a 
division  of  the  book  by  themselves,  of  all,  or  almost  all,  the 
discussions  and  remarks  which  can  be  intelligible  or  interest- 
ing only  to  persons  acquainted  with  Greek. 

The  expository  lectures,  which  occupy  the  larger  part  of 
the  volume,  were,  in  substance,  delivered  from  the  pulpit  in 
ordinary  course  of  Sabbath  ministration.  They  have  since, 
however,  been  re-written,  and  in  the  course  of  transcription 


viil  Preface. 

considerable  changes  have  been  made.  Some  subjects  have 
been  treated  at  greater  length  than  when  the  discourses  were 
preached ;  whilst  of  others  the  illustration  has  been  shortened, 
the  original  fulness  appearing  less  suitable  for  a  book  than 
for  a  spoken  address.  The  introductions,  which  in  most  cases 
simply  repeated  in  a  brief  form  the  main  points  brought  out 
in  the  previous  lecture,  have  been  omitted ;  and,  to  secure 
continuity  of  exposition,  the  practical  inferences  and  applica- 
tions, which  usually  constituted  the  conclusions,  have  also 
been  left  out, — the  practical  character  of  the  whole  Epistle 
seeming  to  render  the  retaining  of  these  less  needful  or  de- 
sirable than  had  it  been  largely  doctrinal.  The  basis  of  the 
lectures  is  a  careful  exegesis, — an  endeavour  to  ascertain  the 
exact  shades  of  thought  which  the  Divine  Spirit  intended  by 
the  words  He  gave  to  the  apostle.  By  all  who  believe  not 
merely  that  the  Word  of  God  is  in  the  Bible,  but  that  the 
Bible  is  the  Word  of  God,  close  attention  to  the  precise  force 
of  words  and  phrases  will  not  be  deemed  misspent  labour. 
At  the  same  time,  the  author's  aim  has  been  not  to  write  a 
mere  commentary  on  words,  but  to  bring  the  apostle,  with 
his  human  sympathies  and  his  divine  inspiration,  clearly  and 
fully  before  the  reader,  as  a  friend  and  counsellor,  whose 
statements  and  appeals  have  weight  and  interest  for  us  as 
well  as  for  the  men  of  his  own  time. 

In  the  new  translation  of  the  Epistle,  which  stands  first 
in  the  volume,  the  aim  has  been  to  exhibit,  with  as  little 
deviation  as  possible  from  the  Authorized  Version,  the  pre- 
cise sense  of  the  original,  according  to  the  best  authenti- 
cated text.  The  text  which  has  been  followed  is,  in  the 
main,  that  of  Alford;^  but  in  a  few  passages  the  balance  of 

1  It  may  perhaps  be  permitted  to  the  writer,  penning  this  preface  while 
the  death  of  Dean  Alford  is  still  but  recent,  to  express  the  gratitude  which, 
as  a  student  of  the  Bible,  he  has  long  felt  to  that  distinguished  editor  and 


Preface.  ix 

probability  has  seemed  to  the  author  to  preponderate  in 
favour  of  a  different  reading  from  his.  Now  and  again,  in 
the  course  of  the  lectures,  in  the  illustration  of  passages  of 
the  Epistle  where  the  meaning  of  the  original  was,  in  the 
author's  judgment,  different  from  that  given  by  the  Authorized 
Version,  but  so  slightly  as  not  to  call  for  discussion,  the 
rendering  of  this  new  translation  has  been  quoted  without 
remark.  This  is  mentioned  here,  to  explain  what  might 
perhaps  otherwise  seem  an  oversight. 

In  preparing  the  Notes  on  the  Greek  Text,  the  author's 
original  intention  was  to  confine  himself  almost  wholly  to 
questions  immediately  connected  with  translation.  But  these 
naturally  suggested  the  discussion  also  of  points  bearing 
rather  on  exegesis ;  and  thus  the  notes  grew  under  his  hand, 
until  they  came  to  embrace  a  reference,  more  or  less  full,  to 
almost  everything  in  the  Greek  Text  of  the  Epistle  which 
calls  for  special  comment.  He  trusts  that  these  fruits  of  his 
grammatical  investigation  of  this  portion  of  the  Word  will  be 
somewhat  helpful  to  other  students. 

In  the  study  of  the  Epistle,  the  author  has  worked  with  the 
aid  of  Calvin,  Beza,  Bengel,  De  Wette,  Wiesinger,  Huther, 
Lange  and  Oosterzee,  Alford,  Poole's  Synopsis  and  Bloom- 
field's  Digest,  and  of  the  less  strictly  critical   expositions  of 

expositor  of  the  New  Testament,  and  his  sense  of  the  great  loss  sustained 
by  the  whole  church  of  Christ  in  this  country  through  his  comparatively 
early  removal.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to  point  out  serious  faults  in  Alford's 
great  work ;  but  in  the  mind  of  any  one  who  candidly  considers  the  vast- 
ness  of  the  enterprise  he  undertook,  the  only  wonder  will  be  that  the  faults 
are  not  more  numerous  and  more  grave.  The  influence  of  his  labours,  in 
the  way  of  exciting  increased  interest  in  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God,  has 
undoubtedly  been  very  wide  and  deep  throughout  all  sections  of  the  church 
in  Great  Britain, — more,  probably,  than  that  exerted  by  any  other  com- 
mentator of  bur  time;  and  the  catholicity  of  his  spirit,  and  clear  evangeli- 
cal ring  of  his  utterances  everywhere  on  the  central  truths  of  our  faith, 
are  fitted  to  have  a  most  bracing  and  healthflil  effect  on  all  his  readers. 

b 


X  Preface. 

Manton,  Neander,  Stier,  Jacobi,  Wardlaw,  and  Adam.  He 
has  been  specially  indebted  to  Wiesinger,  Huther,  Wardlaw, 
and  Adam. 

He  owes  very  hearty  thanks  to  his  friend,  the  Rev.  David 
Kinnear,  B.A.  Lond.,  of  Dalbeattie,  who  has  most  kindly 
aided  him  in  the  revision  of  the  proof-sheets. 

It  only  remains  to  commend  to  God  this  humble  attempt 
to  expound  a  portion  of  His  Word.  May  He  forgive  its  errors 
and  defects,  and  graciously  employ  it  in  some  m.easure  as 
an  instrument  for  advancing  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness ! 

United  Presbyterian  Manse,  Arbroath, 
March  lo,  1871. 


CONTENTS. 


New  Translation  of  the  Epistle, 
Notes  on  the  Greek  Text  of  Chapter  i., 


in., 

IV., 

v.. 


Introduction,  .... 

Supplementary  Note, 
Lect.  i. — ^Joy  in  Trials, 

II. — Wisdom  through  Prayer, 
III. — Rich  Poor  and  Poor  Rich, 
IV. — Genesis  of  Sin, 
V. — Good  Gifts  from  God,   . 
VI. — Regeneration, 
VII. — Receiving  the  Ingrafted  Word, 
VIII. — The  Spiritual  Mirror,    . 
IX. — True  Religious  Service, 
X. — Respect  of  Persons, 
XI. — Unity  of  God's  Law,     . 
XII. — ^Judgment  by  the  Law  of  Liberty, 
XIII. — Faith  without  Works, 
XIV. — ^Justifying  Faith  a  Working  Faith, 
XV. — Responsibility  of  Teachers, 


Chap, 


PAGE 

I 

7 

17 

26 

32 

39 

47 

56 

1-4, 

67 

5-8, 

78 

9-12, 

88 

13-15, 

100 

16,  17, 

no 

18, 

118 

19-21, 

131 

22-25, 

142 

26,  27, 

156 

1-7, 

169 

8-11, 

183 

12,  13, 

192 

14-19, 

202 

20-26, 

214 

I,  2, 

228 

xu 


Contents. 


PAGE 

LeCT.  XVI. 

— Power  of  the  Tongue,         .         .       Chap. 

iii. 

3-6, 

244 

XVII. 

— The  Tongue  Untameable  and  In- 

, 

consistent,      ....             ,, 

iii. 

7-12, 

258 

XVIII. 

— Earthly  Wisdom,       .  >        .         .             , , 

iii. 

13-16, 

269 

XIX. 

— Heavenly  Wisdom,    .         .         .             ,, 

iii. 

17,18, 

278 

XX. 

—Origin  of  Strifes,        ...             ,, 

iv. 

1-3, 

293 

XXI. 

— Worldliness  Enmity  to  God,      .             ,, 

iv. 

4-6, 

304 

XXII. 

— Submission  to  God,    ...             , , 

iv. 

7-10, 

318 

XXIII. 

—Evil  Speaking  and  Judging,        .             ,, 

iv. 

II,  12, 

330 

XXIV. 

— Vain  Confidence   regarding  the 

Future,           ,         .         .         .             ,, 

iv. 

13-17, 

340 

,  XXV. 

—Woes  of  the  Wicked  Rich,          .             , , 

V. 

1-6, 

348 

XXVI.- 

— Patience  thi-ough  the  Blessed  Hope,       ,, 

V. 

7,8, 

364 

XXVII. 

-—Murmuring  against  Brethren,      .             ,, 

V. 

9-11, 

374 

XXVIII.- 

—Swearing,           .         .         .         .             ,, 

V. 

12, 

385 

XXIX.- 

—Prayer  and  Praise,      ...             ,, 

V. 

13-1S, 

396 

XXX.- 

—Confession  and  Prayer,  ,    .         .             ,, 

V. 

16-18, 

409 

XXXI.- 

—Error  and  Conversion,         .         .             ,, 

V. 

19,  20, 

422 

NEW   TRANSLATION 


EPISTLE    OF   JAMES. 


1  James,  a  servant  of  God  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to 
the  twelve  tribes  which  are  in  the  dispersion,  wisheth  joy. 

2  Count  it  all  joy,  my  brethren,  whenever  ye  fall  into  divers 

3  temptations,  knowing  that  the  proof  of  your  faith  worketh 

4  endurance.      But  let  the  endurance  have  a  perfect  work, 
that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  in  nothing  lacking. 

5  But  if  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  who 
giveth   to  all  with  simplicity  and   upbraideth   not,  and  it 

6  shall  be    given  him.      But  let    him  ask  in  faith,   nothing 
wavering  ;  for  he  that  wavereth  is  like  a  billow  of  the  sea, 

7  driven  with  the  wind  and  tossed.      For  let  not  that  man 

8  think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the  Lord.      He  is 
a  double-minded  man,  unstable  in  all  his  ways. 

9  But  let  the  brother  that  is  humble  m  estate  glory  in  his 

10  exaltation,  but  the  rich  in  that  he  is  humbled, — because 

1 1  as  a  flower  of  grass  he  shall  pass  away ;  for  the  sun  rose 
with  the  burning  wind,  and  withered  the  grass,  and  the 
flower  thereof  fell  off,  and  the  grace  of  the  fashion  of  it 
perished  :  so  also  shall  the  rich  man  fade  away  in  his 
ways. 

1 2  Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation  ;  for  when 
he  hath  been  proved,  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life, 
which  He  promised  to  them  that  love  Him. 

13  Let  none  say,  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  from 
God  ;  for  God  cannot  be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth 

14  He  any  one.     But  each  is  tempted,  when  he  is  drawn  away 

1 5  of  his  own  lust  and  enticed  :  then  lust,  having  conceived, 
bringeth  forth  sin,  and  sin,  being  finished,  beareth  death. 

A 


2  New  Translation  of 

1 6,  17  Be  not  deceived,  my  beloved  brethren.  Every  good 
gift  and  every  perfect  boon  cometh  down  from  above,  from 
the  Father  of  the  lights,  with  whom  is  no  variableness  or 

18  shadow  from  turning.  Of  His  own  will  begat  He  us  with 
the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  first-fruits 
of  His  creatures. 

19  Wherefore,  my  beloved  bl^ethren,  let  every  man  be  swift 

20  to  hear,   slow  to  speak,  slow  to  wrath  ;  for  the  wrath  of 

21  man  worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God.  Wherefore, 
putting  away  all  filthiness  and  rankness  of  malignity,  re- 
ceive in  meekness  the  implanted  word,  which  is  able  to 
save  your  souls. 

22  But  be  doers  of  the  word  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving 

23  yourselves  :  because  if  any  be  a  hearer  of  the  word,  and 
not  a  doer,  he  is  like  a  man  beholding  his  natural  face  in 

24  a  mirror  ;    for  he    beheld  himself,  and   is  gone  his  way, 

25  and  straightway  forgot  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  But 
he  that  looked  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  con- 
tinued, being  not  a  forgetful  hearer  but  a  doer  of  work, 
this  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  doing. 

26  If  any  man  think  himself  to  be  observant  of  religious 
service,  whilst  not  bridling  his  tongue,  but  deceiving  his 

27  own  heart,  this  man's  religious  service  is  vain.  Pure  and 
undefiled  religious  service  before  our  God  and  Father  is 
this,  to  visit  orphans  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to 
keep  one's  self  unspotted  from  the  world. 

n.    I        My  brethren,  let  it  not  be  with  respect  of  persons  that 
ye  hold  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  of 

2  glory.  For  if  there  come  into  your  synagogue  a  man  with 
gold  rings,  in  gay  clothing,  and  there  come  in  also  a  poor 

3  man  in  filthy  clothing,  and  ye  have  respect  to  him  that 
weareth  the  gay  clothing,  and  say.  Sit  thou  here  in  a  good 
place,  and  say  to  the  poor  man,  Stand  thou  there,  or  sit 

4  under  my  footstool  ; — was  not  this  to  waver  within  your- 

5  selves  and  to  become  judges  with  evil  thoughts  ?  Hearken, 
my  beloved  brethren  :  did  not  God  choose  the  poor  in  the 
world  to  be  rich  in  faith  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which 

6  He  promised  to  them  that  love  Him  ?  But  ye  dishonoured 
the  poor  man.      Do  not  the  rich  oppress  you,  and  is  it  not 

7  they  that  drag  you  into  courts  of  judgment  ?  Is  it  not 
they  that  blaspheme  the  worthy  name  which  was  named 

8  upon  you  ?     Yet  if  ye  fulfil  the  royal  law,  according  to 


The  Epistle  of  James.  3 

the  Scripture,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,  ye 
9  do  well.     But  if  ye  have  respect  to  persons,  ye  work  sin, 

10  being  convicted  by  the  law  as  transgressors.  For  who- 
soever hath  kept  the  whole  law,  but  hath  offended  in  one 

1 1  point,  is  become  guilty  of  all  ;  for  He  that  said.  Do  not 
commit  adultery,  said  also.  Do  not  kill  :  now,  if  thou 
commit  no  adultery,  but  kill,  thou  art  become  a  trans- 
gressor of  the  law. 

12  So  speak  ye,  and  so  do,  as  they  that  are  to  be  judged  by 
J  3  the  law  of  liberty  ;  for  the  judgment  will  be  without  mercy 

to   him    that    showed    no   mercy :    mercy   glorieth  against 
judgment. 

14  What  is  the  profit,  my  brethren,  if  a  man  say  he  hath 

1 5  faith,  but  have  not  works  ?     Can  the  faith  save  him  ?     If  a 

1 6  brother  or  sister  be  naked,  and  destitute  of  daily  food,  and 
one  of  you  say  unto  them.  Depart  in  peace,  be  warmed 
and  filled,  but  ye   give   them    not   the   things  which   are 

1 7  needful  to  the  body,  what  is  the  profit  ?     So  also  faith,  if  it 

1 8  have  not  works,  is  dead  in  itself.  Yea,  a  man  will  say. 
Thou  hast  faith,  and  I  have  works  :  show  me  thy  faith 
without  the  works,  and  I  will  show  thee  by  my  works  the 

1 9  faith  :  thou  believest  that  God  is  one ;  thou  doest  well  : — 
the  demons  also  believe  //,  and  tremble. 

20  But  wilt  thou  know,  O  vain  man,  that  faith  without  the 

21  works  is  barren?  Was  not  Abraham  our  father  justified 
by  works,  when  he  offered  Isaac  his  son  upon  the  altar  ? 

22  Thou  seest  that  faith  wrought  with  his  works,  and  by  the 

23  works  the  faith  was  made  perfect;  and  the  Scripture  was 
fulfilled  which  saith,  And  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it 
was  imputed  unto  him  for  righteousness  ;  and  he  was  called 

24  the  Friend  of  God.     Ye  see  that  by  works  a  man  is  justified, 

25  and  not  by  faith  only.  And  in  like  manner  was  not  Rahab 
the  harlot  also  justified  by  works,  when  she  received  the 

26  messengers,  and  sent  them  out  another  way  ?  For  as  the 
body  without  a  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  the  works  is 
dead  also. 

III. I        Be  not  many  teachers,  my  brethren,  knowing  that  we 

2  shall  receive  greater  condemnation.      For  in  many  things 
we  all  offend  :  if  any  man  offend  not  in  word,  this  is  a 

3  perfect  man,  able  to  bridle  also  the  whole  body.     When 
into   the  horses'  mouths  we    put  the  bits,  that  they  may 

4  obey  us,  we  turn  about  also  their  whole  body.     Behold, 


4  New  Translation  of 

the  ships  also,  though  they  be  so  great  and  are  driven  of 
fierce  winds,  yet  are  turned   about  with  a  veiy  small  helm, 

5  whithersoever  the  desire  of  the  steersman  listeth.  So  also 
the  tongue  is  a  little  member,  and  boasteth  great  things. 

6  Behold,  how  great  a  forest  a  little  fire  kindleth  !  And  the 
tongue  is  a  fire,  that  world  of  iniquity.  The  tongue 
maketh  itself  among  our  members  that  which  defileth  the 
whole  body,  and  setteth  on  fire  the  circle  of  our  life,  and 

7  is  set  on  fire  by  hell.  For  every  nature  both  of  beasts 
and  of  flying  things,  both  of  reptiles  and  of  things  in  the 

8  sea,  is  tamed  and  hath  been  tamed  by  man's  nature  ;  but 
the  tongue  can  no  man  tame  :  it  is  a  restless  evil ;  it  is 

9  full  of  deadly  poison.  Therewith  bless  we  our  Lord  and 
Father,  and  therewith  curse  we  men,  which  are  made  after 

ID  the  similitude  of  God  :  out  of  the  same  mouth  proceedeth 
blessing  and  cursing.     These  things,   my  brethren,  ought 

1 1  not  so  to  be.     Doth  a  fountain  send  forth  out  of  the  same 

1 2  opening  the  sweet  and  the  bitter  ?  Can  a  fig-tree,  my 
brethren,  bring  forth  olives,  or  a  vine  figs  ?  Neither  can 
salt  water  bring  forth  sweet. 

1 3  Who  is  wise  and  endued  with  knowledge  among  you  ? 
Let  him  by  his  good  way  of  life  show  his  works  in  meek- 

14  ness  of  wisdom.  But  if  ye  have  bitter  envying  and  factious- 
ness in  your  heart,  do  not  glory  against  and  lie  against  the 

1 5  truth.     This  wisdom  is  not  such  as  descendeth  from  above, 

16  but  is  earthly,  sensual,  demon-like;  for  where  envying  and 
factiousness   are,   there  is  confusion  and  every  evil  deed. 

17  But  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then 
peaceable,  gentle,  easy  to  be  persuaded,  full  of  mercy  and 

18  good  fruits,  without  wavering,  without  hypocrisy;  and  the 
fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in  peace  by  them  that  make 
peace. 

IV.  I        Whence  come  wars  and  whence  fightings  among  you  ? 
Come  they  not  hence,  even  from  your  lusts,   that  war  in 

2  your  members  ?  Ye  lust,  and  have  not ;  ye  kill  and  envy, 
and    cannot    obtain ;    ye    fight    and    war.      Ye    have    not, 

3  because  ye  ask  not  ;  ye  ask  and  receive  not,  because  ye 

4  ask  wickedly,  that  ye  may  spend  it  in  your  lusts.  Ye 
adulteresses,  know  ye  not  that  friendship  with  the  world  is 
enmity  with  God  ?  Whosoever,  therefore,  is  minded  to  be 
a  friend  of  the  world,  maketh  himself  an  enemy  of  God. 

5  Or  do  ye  think  that  the  Scripture  saith  it  in  vain  ?     Doth 


The  Epistle  of  James.  5 

the  Spirit  that  He   caused  to  dwell   in  us   long   towards 

6  envy  ?  But  greater  is  the  grace  He  giveth  :  wherefore  He 
saith,  God  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto  the 

7  humble.      Submit  yourselves  therefore  to  God.      Resist  the 

8  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you  ;  draw  nigh  to  God,  and 
He    will    draw    nigh    to    you.       Cleanse    your    hands,    ye 

9  sinners,  and  purify  your  hearts,  ye  double-minded.  Be 
miserable,   and   mourn,  and  weep  :    let    your   laughter  be 

10  turned  into  mourning,  and  your  joy  into  dejection.  Humble 
yourselves  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  He  will  exalt  you. 

1 1  Speak  not  one  against  another,  brethren.  He  that 
speaketh  against  a  brother,  or  judgeth  his  brother,  speaketh 
against  the  law,  and  judgeth  the  law.     Now  if  thou  judge 

1 2  the  law,  thou  art  not  a  doer  of  the  law  but  a  judge.  One 
is  the  Lawgiver  and  Judge,  He  who  is  able  to  save  and 
to  destroy ;  but  thou, — who  art  thou  that  judgest  thy 
neighbour  ? 

13  Go  to  now,  ye  that  say.  To-day  and  to-morrow  we  will 
go  to  such  a  city,  and  will  spend   there  one  year,  and  will 

14  trade,  and  get  gain;  (whereas  ye  know  not  what  shall  be 
on  the  morrow,  for  what  is  your  life  ?  For  ye  are  a 
vapour,  which  appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth 

1 5  away  ;)   instead  of  saying,  If  the  Lord  will,  we  shall  both 

16  live  and  do  this  or  that.      But  now  ye  boast  in  your  vain- 

17  glory;  all  such  boasting  is  evil.  To  him,  then,  that 
knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin. 

V.    I        Go    to    now,    ye    rich    men,    weep    howling    over    your 

2  miseries  that  are  coming  on.      Your  riches  are  corrupted, 

3  and  your  garments  are  become  moth-eaten.  Your  gold 
and  silver  is  rusted  utterly,  and  the  rust  of  them  shall  be 
for  a  testimony  to  you,  and  shall  eat  your  flesh  as  fire.      Ye 

4  laid  up  treasure  in  the  last  days.  Behold,  the  hire  of  the 
labourers  that  mowed  your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept 
back  by  fraud,  crieth  ;  and  the  cries  of  them  which  reaped 

5  are  entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.  Ye  lived 
in  luxury  on  the  earth,  and  revelled.      Ye  nourished  your 

6  hearts  in  the  day  of  slaughter.  Ye  condemned — ye  killed 
— the  Just  One  ;  He  doth  not  resist  you. 

7  Be  patient  therefore,  brethren,  until  the  coming  of  the 
Lord.  Behold,  the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  precious 
fruit  of  the  earth,  being  patient  over  it,  until  it  receive  the 

8  early  and  the  latter  rain  :  be  ye  also  patient,  stablish  your 


The  Epistle  of  James. 

9  hearts,  because  the  coming  of  the  Lord  is  nigh.     Murmur 

not  one  against  another,  brethren,  that  ye  be  not  judged  : 

JO  behold,    the    Judge    standeth    before    the    doors.       Take, 

brethren,  for  an  example  of  affliction  and  of  patience,  the 

1 1  prophets,  who  spake  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Behold, 
we  count  them  blessed  which  endure.  Ye  have  heard  of 
the  endurance  of  Job  :  behold  also  the  end  of  the  Lord, 
because  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful  and  of  tender  mercy. 

1 2  But  above  all  things,  my  brethren,  swear  not,  neither  by 
the  heaven,  nor  by  the  earth,  nor  by  any  other  oath  ;  but 
let  your  yea  be  yea,  and  your  nay  nay,  that  ye  fall  not 
under  judgment. 

13  Is  any  among  you  afflicted  ?     Let  him  pray.      Is  any  of 

14  good  cheer  ?  Let  him  sing  praise.  Is  any  among  you  sick  ? 
Let  him  call  for  the  elders  of  the  church,  and  let  them 
pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the 

1 5  Lord  ;  and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick  man, 
and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up,  and  if  he  have  committed 

16  sins,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him.  Confess  therefore  your  faults 
one  to  another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  ye  may 
be  healed.     The  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 

17  much.  Elijah  was  a  man  subject  to  like  passions  as  we 
are,  and  he  prayed  earnestly  that  it  might  not  rain,  and  it 
rained  not  on  the  land  for  three  years  and  six  months  ; 

18  and  again  he  prayed,  and  the  heaven  gave  rain,  and  the 
earth  brought  forth  her  fruit. 

19  My  brethren,  if  any  among  you  be  led  to  err  from  the 

20  truth,  and  one  convert  him,  let  him  know,  that  he  which 
converteth  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way  shall  save  a 
soul  from  death,  and  shall  cover  a  multitude  of  sins. 


NOTES   ON   THE    GREEK    TEXT.^ 


CHAPTER   I. 

Ver.  I.  In  the  translation  of  Paul's  Epistles  which  is  given  in 
Conybeare  and  Howson's  admirable  work,  8ov\os,  connected  as 
here  with  Gfov  or  '1t]<tov  Xpia-rov,  is  rendered  'bondsman.'  Ab- 
soluteness and  permanence  of  subjection  are,  no  doubt,  ideas 
intended  to  be  suggested  by  the  word,  as  distinguished  from 
vTTTjpeTTjs  and  8idKovos ;  and,  had  we  any  English  word  that  would 
express  these  without  bringing  the  degrading  thought  of  slavery 
into  association  with  that  willing  service  of  love  which  is  the 
only  true  freedom,  such  would  be  the  right  word.  But  '  bonds- 
man '  is  certainly  unsuitable. 

The  definit'eness  of  iv  rfj  Stao-Tropg,  an  expression  familiar  to 
the  apostle's  Jewish  readers,  requires  a  more  definite  represen- 
tation in  English  than  is  given  by  the  words  of  our  authorized 
version — 'which  are  scattered  abroad.' 

'  Greeting '  is  an  excellent  rendering  of  xa'/'""?  ^"^  indeed 
commonly  where  the  word  occurs,  as  here,  in  a  salutation,  the 
best.  But  in  this  place  the  xa'P""  so  obviously  suggested  the 
form  into  which  the  precept  in  the  next  verse  is  thrown,  with 
xapav,  that  it  seems  desirable  to  show  the  connection  by  the 

'  The  prominence  given  in  these  Notes,  particularly  in  the  first  part, 
to  points  immediately  connected  with  translation  is  accounted  for  by  the 
fact,  mentioned  in  the  Preface,  that  the  writer's  original  intention,  in 
planning  this  part  of  the  book,  was  simply  to  support  some  renderings 
in  the  New  Version  of  the  Epistle,  the  propriety  of  which  might  not  be 
altogether  obvious. 


8  The  Epistle  of  James.        [ch.  i.  3,  4. 

translation.  A  somewhat  marked  characteristic  of  the  whole 
Epistle,  indeed,  is  the  frequency  with  which  important  and  in- 
teresting links  of  thought  are  indicated  by  the  use  of  the  same 
or  kindred  words, — links  which  a  translator  must  endeavour  to 
exhibit.  A  good  illustration  occurs  in  the  XetTro/xei'ot  with  which 
the  fourth  verse  closes,  and  the  Xeiirerai  of  the  first  clause  of  the 
fifth. 

3.  'Trying,'  of  the  authorized  version,  is  an  unobjectionable 
rendering  of  boKiiiiov,  and  this  as  regards  not  merely  the  root- 
word,  but  the  particular  form ;  for  8okihiov  here  has  somewhat 
the  force  of  t6  SoKty^ta^eii/.  '  Proof,'  however,  has  been  substi- 
tuted in  the  new  version,  mainly  to  have  a  kindred  word  with 
'proved,'  which,  for  a  reason  explained  in  the  note  on  the 
passage,  I  have  thought  it  necessary  to  introduce  in  the  twelfth 
verse  as  the  translation  of  Sd/<t/xoy. 

The  sense  of  vnojiovr]  is  unquestionably  somewhat  wider  than 
that  of  '  patience.'  In  New  Testament  usage  it  means  '  endur- 
ance' or  'perseverance'  in  rehgious  hope  and  devotedness. 
See,  for  example,  Luke  viii.  15,  xxi.  19;  Rev.  ii.  2,  3.  Arch- 
bishop Trench,  in  his  Synonyms  of  the  New  Testament,  has  an 
interesting  essay  on  the  exact  meaning  of  the  word,  in  which 
he  quotes  a  definition  given  by  Cicero  {De  Inven.  ii.  54)  of 
paticiitia  and  pcrseverantia :  Paticntia  est  honcstatis  met  ntilifatis 
causa  reruvi  arduarum  ac  difficilhim  voluntaria  ac  diutiima 
perpessio ;  per  sever antia  est  in  7-atione  bene  considerata  stabilis 
et  perpetua  permansio.  'Ynoixovrj  is  both  of  these  in  one.  Pro- 
fessor Eadie  (on  Coloss.  i.  11)  describes  the  word  as  denoting 
'that  tenacity  of  spirit  which  still  holds  on,  and  perseveres,  and 
waits  God's  time  for  reward  or  dismissal.' 

4.  'Yttoimovt],  anarthrous  in  the  previous  verse,  has  here  the 
article,  having  been  made  definite  by  its  mention  there.  A 
similar  case  occurs  in  ver.  15  ;  but  there  it  is  clearly  better  to 
leave  the  article  untranslated,  because  afiapria  is  personified, 
and  the  figurative  representation  would  in  English  be  destroyed 
by  the  insertion  of  '  the,'  whereas  in  Greek,  where  the  article 
is  freely  used  with  proper  names,  the  image  is  not  interfered 
with.     In  no  branch  of  Greek  grammar  have  the  investigations 


CH.  I.  5,  6.]      Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  9 

of  modern  scholars  obtained  more  satisfactory  and  interesting 
results  than  with  regard  to  the  use  of  the  article  :  but  in  an 
English  version  its  force  often  cannot  be  given.  In  the  latter 
half  of  the  second  chapter  of  this  Epistle  there  is  a  somewhat 
unusual  number  of  illustrations  both  of  the  delicate  use  of  the 
article,  and  of  the  difficulty  to  which  a  translator  is  exposed. 
One  can  but  exercise  his  best  judgment,  guided  by  the  ascer- 
tained grammatical  principles  and  the  course  of  the  writer's 
thought. 

5.  The  position  of  StSoVros  between  rov  and  eeou  bestows 
on  it  a  peculiar  force,  in  the  way  of  setting  forth  '  giving '  as 
an  attribute  of  the  divine  character  well  known  to  all  the 
apostle's  readers.  This,  however,  cannot  be  shown  in  an 
English  version. 

'ATrXwy,  in  its  connection  with  StSo'j^roy,  has  its  exact  meaning 
illustrated  by  the  use  of  the  equivalent  eV  aTrXdr^Tt  in  Rom.  xii. 
8,  and  the  fuller  eV  anXoTtjTt  ttjs  Kapbtas  in  Eph.  vi.  5,  respec- 
tively rendered  in  the  authorized  version  'with  simplicity' and 
'in  singleness  of  heart.'  The  specialty  of  the  form  of  the 
thought,  and  with  this  necessarily  somewhat  of  its  exquisite 
beauty,  are  lost  by  the  rendering  '  liberally.' 

6.  As  here  used,  SiaKplvetrfiai  means  '  to  be  at  variance  or 
issue  with  one's  self  Its  force  in  various  applications  will  be 
seen  by  referring  to  Matt.  xxi.  21  ;  Acts  x.  20;  Rom.  iv.  20. 
In  the  first  two  of  these  passages  it  is  rendered  by  '  doubt ;'  in 
the  last,  very  suitably  in  the  connection,  by  'stagger.'  I  am 
disposed  to  think  that  in  the  places  where  James  employs  it 
the  '  waver '  of  our  translators  (following  Tyndale,  who,  how- 
ever, so  rendering  it  in  the  first  clause  of  this  verse,  oddly 
enough  substitutes  '  doubt '  in  the  second)  is  perhaps  the  best 
word ;  for  it  is  not  so  much  to  the  intellectual  '  doubt '  that  he 
directs  attention  as  to  the  instability  of  the  affections  and  con- 
duct, the  moral  '  swaying  to  and  fro,'  which  really  originates  the 
doubt,  and  is  again  intensified  by  it.  Now  this  thought  could 
hardly  be  more  exactly  brought  out  than  by  '  waver.'  Huther 
says  excellently,  that  '  whilst  nia-ns  says  Yes,  and  ania-Tia  No, 
diaKpipeadai  is  the  co-existence  of  Yes  and  No,  with  the  No 


lo  The  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  i.  8-10. 

preponderant,  and  thus  it  leads  to  dniaTia.'  It  springs  from 
a  dominant  unwillingness  to  lean  absolutely  on  the  divine 
strength,  and  must  therefore  be  distinguished  from  weak  but 
real  faith,  and  from  those  doubts  and  fears  to  which  the  man 
of  strongest  faith  is  subject  at  times,  but  which  the  energy 
of  his  faith  conquers,  as,  to  use  Calvin's  comparison  in  speak- 
ing on  this  subject,  'ardor,  qucR  firmas  radices  Jecit,  quatitur 
quidem  venti  impulsu,  sed  non  revellitiir,  quin  pot'ms  suo  loco 
stabilis  vianei.^ 

It  is  perhaps  desirable  to  distinguish  the  somewhat  poetical 
kXvScov  from  the  ordinary  Kvna  by  using  '  billow '  instead  of 
'  wave ;'  and,  besides,  it  seems  well  to  avoid  the  appearance 
of  a  play  of  words  ('waver' — 'Avave')  which  has  nothing  cor- 
responding to  it  in  the  original. 

8.  This  verse  may  be  construed  in  three  ways.  'Avrjp  blyf/vxos 
may  be  regarded  as  the  subject,  and  what  follows  as  the  pre- 
dicate, with  the  substantive  verb  understood.  So  our  author- 
ized version  takes  it,  with  Luther,  De  Wette,  and  many  others. 
Winer  (Gram.  §  59.  10),  with  whom  agree  Huther,  Wiesinger, 
and  others,  makes  this  verse  a  continuation  of  the  previous 
sentence,  considering  dvrjp  to  be  in  apposition  with  6  avOpa- 
TTos  iKdvos.  Alford,  supplying  the  substantive  verb,  makes  the 
whole  verse  predicative.  This  last  construction  I  am  inclined 
to  think  on  the  whole  the  most  satisfactory,  for  a  general 
statement,  such  as  the  first  gives,  seems  hardly  so  natural  as  a 
special  predication  regarding  the  man  already  spoken  of,  and, 
moreover,  Si^j/vxos,  both  as  importing  into  the  discussion  a  new 
and  striking  thought,  and  as  being  a  rare  word,  perhaps  coined 
by  James,  appears  to  belong  to  the  predicate  rather  than  the 
subject ;  whilst  the  second  construction  hardly  accords  with 
the  usual  simplicity  of  the  apostle's  style. 

9.  The  '  glory '  which  our  translators  have  put  in  the  margin 
is  certainly  preferable  to  the  'rejoice'  of  their  text,  for  this 
latter  exhibits  only  a  part  of  what  is  involved  in  Kavxaa-dai. 
Theile,  cited  by  Huther,  says,  '^  Notio  gloriandiinvolvit  iwtas,  i, 
gatidendi;  2,  cojifidentice  ;  t,,  ^xterne  express i.^ 

10.  Beza,  Huther,  Alford,  and  others,  take  6  nlovaios  here 


CH.  I.  lo.]       Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  1 1 

not  as  qualifying  6  dSeXcpos  repeated,  but  as  meaning  simply 
'  the  rich  man,'  assumed  to  be  an  unbeliever.  Appeal  is  made 
in  support  of  this  view  to  the  fact  that  elsewhere  in  the  Epistle 
(ii.  6,  V.  i)  James  speaks  of 'the  rich,'  as  a  class,  as  persecutors 
of  the  Christians.  On  this  view  Kavxaadai,  as  repeated  for  this 
clause,  is  taken  ironically :  thus  Beza  says  it  is  to  be  under- 
stood '' contraria  significatione,  idque  non  sine  aspero  sarcasmo, 
pro  TaireivocppoveiTco.^  Alford  prefers  to  take  the  indicative  Kav- 
xarat.  out  of  Kavxdcrdco;  but  this  is  Certainly  harsh,  and  could 
not,  I  think,  be  supported  by  any  analogous  construction  in 
the  New  Testament,  unless  John  xv.  4  or  Gal.  iv.  12  supply 
a  shght  approach  to  one.  The  Tar,fivco<ns  is  held  to  refer  to 
the  destruction  impending  on  all  mere  earthly  grandeur  (as 
Beza  has  it,  m  depressione  sui  glorietur,  brevi  videlicet  secutura), 
or,  by  Alford,  to  the  wealth  itself, — Phil.  iii.  19,  third  clause, 
being  referred  to  as  explaining  the  thought.  By  Calvin,  De 
Wette,  Neander,  Stier,  Wiesinger,  and  the  majority  of  com- 
mentators, 6  TvXovaios  is  regarded  as  qualifying  6  d8e'k(f)6s  re- 
peated, the  Kavxdadm  (repeated)  taken  literally,  and  the  raneiva)- 
<TLs  supposed  to  designate  the  '  humbling '  of  soul  which  God's 
grace  produces  in  His  children.  At  first  sight,  certainly,  as 
Huther  admits,  this  seems  to  be  the  apostle's  meaning ;  and  on 
the  whole  it  appears  to  me  that  we  should  adhere  to  it.  There 
were  unquestionably  so/ne  rich  men  in  the  primitive  church 
(see  I  Tim.  vi.  17-19),  though,  as  in  all  ages,  particularly  ages 
of  persecution,  comparatively  few :  the  argument,  therefore, 
against  the  ordinary  view  drawn  from  James's  elsewhere  speak- 
ing of  the  rich  being,  as  a  class,  non-Christian,  has  little  or  no 
force.  The  chief  real  difficulty  lies  in  our  having  out  of  '  the 
rich  brother'  to  take  'the  rich  man,'  regarded  simply  as  such, 
as  subject  to  napeXevcrfTai,  and  giving  also  to  6  TrXoiVto?  in  the 
eleventh  verse  this  latter  sense.  But  through  the  fact  of  6  dbeX- 
(j)bs  6  TaTTiivos  and  6  dtiK^os  6  TTkov(Tios  being  placed  in  antithesis 
the  differentia  is  brought  so  distinctly  before  the  mind,  that  it 
appears  not  unnatural  to  pass  on  to  the  thought  of  6  ttKovglos 
simply  considered.  Against  the  view  of  Beza  lies  mainly  the 
extreme  unnaturalness,  looking  at  the  form  of  the  antithesis,  of 


1 2  The  Epistle  of  J  antes,    [ch.  i.  i  i-i  3. 

not  taking  6  Tr'kova-ios  as  qualifying  a  repeated  6  d8eX({)6s.  That 
Kavxda-dco,  which  in  the  first  clause  is  a  precept  of  love  and 
sympathy,  should,  as  repeated  for  6  irXovcnos,  have,  without  any 
warning  given,  the  force  of  a  stern  withering  sarcasm, — this 
also  appears  harsh. 

11.  By  the  aorists  the  apostle  throws  his  illustration  into  the 
form  of  a  tale  regarding  some  particular  clvdos  xoprov  on  which 
he  had  looked ;  and  the  pathos  of  the  little  story  is  felt  by 
every  reader.  James,  who,  as  is  evident  from  the  whole 
Epistle,  had  in  no  small  measure  the  imagination  and  suscepti- 
bilities of  a  poet,  loves  to  set  his  scenes  before  us  in  this  way, 
as  real :  compare  verses  24th  and  25th  of  this  chapter,  and 
4th  and  6th  (ist  clause)  of  the  next.  'In  no  part  of  the 
New  Testament,'  says  Winer  {Gram.  §  40.  5),  'does  the  aorist 
express  what  is  wont  to  be  done.' 

By  Kav(T(iiv  may  be  meant  simply  '  burning  heat '  (see  Matt. 
XX.  12) ;  but  the  way  in  which  the  word  is  joined  to  6  i]Kio^,  as 
if  exhibiting  an  additional  parching  agent,  rather  suggests  the 
sense  in  which  it  is  often  employed  by  the  LXX.  as  represent- 
ing the  Hebrew  CTp,  the  scorching  wind  from  the  Arabian 
deserts.  In  Jonah  iv.  8  we  have  a  very  similar  description  of 
the  conjunction  of  the  powers  of  sun  and  hot  wind. 

12.  i^oKnio^.,  and  the  other  words  from  the  same  root,  origi- 
nally indicate  '  testing '  simply,  but  afterwards  *  bearing  the  test 
successfully.'  '  Tried,'  the  rendering  of  the  authorized  version, 
shows  also  a  similar  development  of  meaning,  for  example,  in 
the  phrase  'a  tried  friend  :'  but  in  this  place  it  seems  ambigu- 
ous, and  therefore  '  proved '  has  been  substituted,  which  whilst, 
like  '  tried,'  corresponding  to  So/ct/xos  in  its  primary  sense,  sug- 
gests with  more  certainty  the  further  thought,  '  ^/proved.' 

'o  Ki^ptos  is  wanting  in  Codices  A,  B,  and  Sin. ;  in  C  the 
article  is  wanting ;  and  some  cursive  manuscripts  and  versions 
read  6  eeo'r.  Trom  the  variations  it  seems  probable  that  there 
was  originally  no  expressed  subject,  which  copyists  supplied  by 
difterent  glosses. 

13.  ' K-no  Qiov  is  distinguished  from  invh  Qtov  as  indicating  a 
remoter  cause,  while  the  latter  marks  the  immediate   agent: 


CH.  I.  15-17.]  Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  13 

compare  ver.  14,  vtto  rTJs  tSias  e7ri6vfiias  f^e'XKoixevos.  None  but 
the  most  daringly  impious  could  ever  allow  the  thought  iinu 
GeoC  TTfipd^ofxai  to  enter  his  mind  :  but  James  refers  to  delu- 
sions that  even  a  professing  Christian  might  entertain.  See 
Winer,  Grain.  §  47,  on  oko. 

The  natural  meaning  of  the  verbal  adjective  dnelpaaTos,  in 
the  connection  in  which  it  stands  here,  is  beyond  doubt,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  'untempted'  or  'untemptable ;'  and  the  avros 
expressed  in  the  following  clause,  implying  an  antithesis,  sup- 
ports this  view  of  the  meaning,  which  accordingly  is  held  by 
the  majority  of  commentators.  De  Wette,  Alford,  and  others 
(among  whom  Alford,  through  oversight,  includes  Huther),  take 
the  word  in  its  more  usual  sense,  *  unversed  in.'  On  the 
meaning  of  the  word  and  its  construction,  see  Winer,  Gram. 

§  30-  4- 

The  Se  after  Tretpa^et  marks  a  contrast  to  the  'temptableness' 
which  in  the  previous  clause  has  been  denied  of  God,  or,  more 
exactly,  to  a  thought  naturally  connecting  itself  with  that : 
'  Now  if  God  were  temptable,  it  would  be  conceivable  that  in 
some  circumstances  He  might  tempt, — but.^ 

15.  In  the  original  the  verisimilitude  of  the  metaphor  is 
complete,  emdvula  being  feminine.  In  English,  whilst  to  mark 
the  personification  by  using  a  feminine  pronoun  would  perhaps 
be  to  give  this  point  too  much  prominence,  yet  it  is  certainly, 
at  the  least,  desirable  to  avoid  the  '  it '  which  the  authorized 
version  needlessly  obtrudes. 

With  regard  to  the  force  of  the  article  in  rj  apapria,  see  note 
on  ver.  4. 

For  the  second  '  bringeth  forth  '  of  the  authorized  version, 
'  beareth '  has  been  substituted,  simply  because  in  the  original 
the  apostle  uses  not  the  same  word  as  before,  but  a  synonym  ; 
and,  whatever  his  reason,  it  seems  better  to  show  this. 

16.  In  all  the  other  places  in  the  New  Testament  where 
jjit]  irKavaaBe  occurs,  it  is  rendered  '  Be  not  deceived ; '  and  a 
reader  of  a  version,  as  well  as  of  the  original,  should  have  the 
familiar  apostolic  appeal  recalled  to  his  mind. 

17.  ^oais  and  8a)pr]p.a  claim  to  be  represented  in  a  translation 


1 4  The  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  i.  19-21. 

by  different  words  ;  and  if  (as  is  suggested  by  the  frequent  use 
of  Swpeav  in  the  sense  of  '  gratuitously ')  a  somewhat  greater 
prominence  given  to  the  idea  of  freeness  be  the  specialty  of 
hapri\ia  as  contrasted  with  SoViy,  then  '  boon  '  answers  the  re- 
quirements well.  From  the  course  of  the  apostle's  argument 
a  certain  stress  seems  to  be  laid  on  the  adjectives  aya6r\  and 
T^iiov ;  but  such  a  rendering  as  '  Every  gift  that  is  good,  and 
every  boon  that  is  perfect,'  would  perhaps  make  the  emphasis 
upon  them  too  great.  The  words  from  Trao-a  to  reXeiov  consti- 
tute a  perfect  hexameter,  which  Winer  {Gram.  §  68)  con- 
siders to  have  been  'a  current  poetic  sentence,  from  an 
unknown  source.' 

"Avcodev  icTTi  Kara^aivov  appear  to  go  together  in  construction, 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  similar  case  in  iii.  15.  But  the  parti- 
ciple and  substantive  verb  are  not  exactly  equivalent  to  Kara- 
^aivei.  The  participle  brings  out  a  quality  of  the  gifts  spoken 
of,  and  has  almost  the  force  of  '  such  as  cometh.'  This  force 
of  the  participle  is  very  obvious  in  iii.  15,  from  the  antithesis. 
But  this  thought  could  hardly  be  exhibited  here  in  an  English 
version,  without  giving  it  undue  prominence. 

ig.  In  the  beginning  of  this  verse  the  reading  is  somewhat 
doubtful.  Codices  A,  B,  C  have  as  the  first  word  lorre ;  then, 
after  the  words  of  address,  A  has  Ka\  ea-Tco,  and  B,  C  have  eorrw  8e. 
"nare  is  found  in  K,  L,  and  Sin.  There  are  also  other  minor 
variations,  showing  that  through  some  cause  the  text  had  fallen 
into  confusion  here.  Huther,  Lange,  and  Alford  read  I'ore; 
but,  whether  rendered  as  an  indicative  or  an  imperative,  this 
seems  hard,  unnatural,  altogether  unlike  James's  style.  "Qa-re  is 
approved  by  De  Wette  and  Wiesinger,  and  has  been  returned 
to  by  Tischendorf,  who  had  previously  favoured  the  other. 

21.  Dean  Alford's  suggestion,  that  '  the  agricultural  similitude 
in  tfi(f)vTos  may  have  influenced  the  choice  of  both  the  words 
pvTTapia  and  Trepto-o-et'a,'  appears  to  me  to  explain  them  better  than 
any  other  view  of  their  reference  that  I  have  seen.  The  use 
of  eiJ.(pvTos  in  this  verse  is  illustrated  by  words  of  Herodotus 
(ix.  94)  regarding  a  certain  Evenius,  who,  after  some  incidents 

which   are    described,  avriKa   ejxipvTOU  p.avTiKi)v  elx^}  wore   Koi   ovvo- 


CH.  I.  22-25.]   Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  15 

fxaa-Tos  yeveadai.      Compare  also  the  use  of  the  sister  word 
(Tvfi(f)VTos  in  Rom.  vi.  5, 

22.  De  Wette,  Wiesinger,  Lange,  and  others,  adhere  to  the 
rigid  rendering  of  ylveadf,  '  become  ye.'  Theile  (cited  by 
Wiesinger)  remarks,  '■Censuit  (apostolus)  certe  JioJidum  esse  sivc  jwn- 
diwi  satis  esse.''  Meyer  also  throughout  his  Commentary  on  the 
New  Testament  regularly  gives  this  rendering  of  the  imperative 
of  yiveadai.  But  Huther  shows  conclusively,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
that  this  is  in  many  places  unnatural,  and  that  practically,  in 
New  Testament  usage,  yivov  is  equivalent  to  'la-di, — the  explana- 
tion being  found  in  the  fact  referred  to  in  Theile's  Jioiidiim  satis 
esse  above,  that  the  believer  should  always  be  '  becoming '  in 
larger  measure  what  he  already  '  is '  in  some  measure,  wise, 
and  holy,  and  happy. 

23.  In  TO  7rp6(ju)7rov  T^?  yevea-ecos  the  genitive  is  one  of  origin 
— 'the  face  derived  from  his  birth,  given  him  by  his  birth.' 
'  Natural,'  of  the  authorized  version,  is  an  excellent  rendering. 
Tyndale  has  '  bodily,'  which  is  also  good,  though  not  so  good 
as  the  authorized,  because  further  from  literalness.  The 
Geneva  has  the  odd  rendering,  '  his  lively  face.' 

24.  Regarding  the  aorists,  see  note  on  ver.  11.  The  per- 
fect dne\r}\v6ep  between  the  aorists  shows  that,  as  the  man 
appears  before  the  apostle's  mind,  he  is  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness or  the  pleasures  of  life,  the  matters  which  really  deeply 
interest  him  ;  and  thus  the  thought  is,  '  he  beheld  himself,  and 
(as  you  see)  he  has  gone  away  from  the  mirror  to  his  business 
or  his  enjoyments,  and  (at  and  from  the  moment  he  left  the 
mirror)  he  straightway  forgot  what  manner  of  man  he  was.' 
The  conjunction  of  perfects  and  aorists  is  fully  and  admirably 
explained  by  Winer,  Gram.  §  40.  4. 

25.  In  this  verse,  which  describes  the  wise  hearer  of  the 
word,  the  historical  form  is  continued  from  the  preceding, 
but  now  with  participles.  llapaKv'^as  seems,  according  to  its 
etymology  and  its  use  in  i  Pet.  i.  12,  to  indicate  steady 
earnest  looking.  This  differs  from  the  classical  usage  of  the 
word  :  see  reff.  in  Liddell  and  Scott,  sul>  v. 

iiapa[x{ivas  is  not,  as  the  authorized  version  has  it,  '  continueth 


1 6  The  Epistle  of  y antes,     [ch.  1,26,  27. 

therein^  that  is,  in  the  law,  in  obedience  to  the  law.  This 
compound  would  be  unsuitable  for  the  expression  of  such  a 
thought,  the  proper  form  being  emiiveiv.  compare  Gal.  iii.  10 
and  Acts  xiv.  22.  Besides,  in  the  contrasted  descriptions  of 
the  wise  hearer  in  this  verse  and  the  foolish  in  the  preceding, 
there  is  a  complete  parallelism  :  '  beheld  himself,'  '  looked 
into;'  'is  gone  his  way,'  'continued;'  'straightway  forgot,' 
'  not  forgetful.'  This  clearly  shows  the  meaning  of  napanelvas 
to  be  '  continued  looking.' 

'AKpoaTrjs  iTn\7](Tpovr)s  is  a  Hebraism  of  a  kind  not  uncommon 
in  the  New  Testament,  in  which  the  genitive  of  a  substantive 
is  used  to  express  quality,  in  place  of  an  adjective.  The  words 
here  are  therefore  equivalent  to  aKpoarrjs  inikr^aixav.  Compare 
ii.  4;  Luke  xviii.  6  ;  Phil.  iii.  21. 

In  TToirjrfjs  epyov  the  Sense  seems  general,  '  a  doer  of  work,' 
not  'of  f/ie  work.'  It  is  true  that  above,  in  ver.  22,  TroirjTa). 
Xoyov  means  '  doers  of  t/ie  word ;'  but  Xoyos  (compare  its  use 
in  ver.  18)  is  one  of  the  words  (such  as  vopos,  prjpa,  and  many 
others)  which  had  come  to  be  regarded  almost  as  proper 
names,  and  were  often  written  without  the  article  even  whilst 
the  meaning  was  quite  definite.  "Epyov  does  not  belong  to  this 
class. 

26,  27.  'Religion  '  and  'religious,'  as  representing  BprjaKeia  and 
Bprja-Kos,  were  probably  not  seriously  misleading  at  the  time  our 
authorized  version  was  made,  but  they  certainly  are  so  now. 
For  the  meaning  of  these  Greek  words,  see  Trench,  Sj/ionyms 
of  the  New  Testament,  First  Series,  pp.  200-202  ;  for  the 
proper  rendering  •  of  SoKet  here.  Trench  On  the  Authorized 
Version  of  the  New  Testament,  pp.  123,  124;  for  the  old  mean- 
ing of  '  religion '  and  '  religious,'  Eastwood  and  Wright's  Bible 
Word-Book,  sub  vv. 


CH.  II.  I.]       Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  17 


CHAPTER  II. 

Ver.  I.  By  some  commentators  this  verse  is  considered  to 
be  a  question, — '  Do  ye  hold,'  etc.  ?  But  the  definiteness 
of  the  apostle's  assumption,  in  the  verses  that  follow,  of  the 
guilt  of  his  readers  in  the  matter,  makes  it  altogether  impro- 
bable that  we  have  here  the  uncertainty  of  a  question,  parti- 
cularly a  question  introduced  by  /^j),  which  as  an  interrogative 
always  retains  somewhat  of  its  usual  force  as  the  subjective 
particle  of  negation,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  doubt ; — thus  here, 
'  I  cannot  suppose  that  you  hold  ;'  '  Surely  you  do  not  hold, — 
do  you  ?' 

The  words  eV  Trpoa-conoXrjyl/lais  have  plainly,  from  their  posi- 
tion, the  principal  emphasis  in  the  verse ;  and  in  English  this 
can  hardly  be  shown  without  lengthening  out  the  imperative 
by  'let.'  The  apostle's  lively  'in,  among,  environed  by, 
respectings  of  persons,'  cannot,  I  think,  be  adequately  repre- 
sented in  idiomatic  English  without  a  paraphrase  somewhat 
out  of  place  in  a  simple  version;  and  we  must  content  our- 
selves with  the  comparatively  prosaic  'with  respect  of  per- 
sons.' 

The  construction  of  ttjs  86^t]s  is  difficult.  By  Erasmus  and 
Calvin  it  is  regarded  as  a  genitive  of  origin,  with  the  sense, 
'  in  consequence  of,  or  according  to,  the  opinion,  or  estimate 
(which  you  form  of  individuals),'  and  is  joined  closely  to  fxrj 
iv  Trpoa-conoKrjyl/iais  ex^re.  Bengel,  appealing  to  Luke  ii.  32, 
Isa.  xl,  5,  Eph.  i.  17,  i  Pet.  iv.  14,  takes  86^a  as  an  appel- 
lation of  Christ,  *  the  Glory,'  and  construes  the  genitive,  there- 
fore, in  apposition  with  rov  Kvpiov.  Laurentius  and  Lange 
make  the  genitive  dependent  on  Xpiarov,  '  the  Messiah  of 
glory,' — which  certainly  seems  an  altogether  untenable  con- 
struction, seeing  that  it  breaks  up  what,  from  the  absence  of 
the  article  before  Xpidrov,  appears  evidently  intended  for  the 

B 


1 8  The  Epistle  of  James.  [ch.  ii.  2. 

familiar  proper  name,  'Jesus  Christ.'  Some  put  t^.?  So^?;? 
imder  the  government  of  ttio-tiv,  but  with  variety  of  view  re- 
garding the  meaning :  '  the  glorious  faith '  (Gataker  and  Hot- 
tinger;  compare  Phil.  iii.  21) ;  'faith  in  the  glory  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ'  (Grotius  and  others);  'faith  springing  from,  or 
based  on,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  glory,'  that  is,  as  Paul 
has  it  in  Rom.  viii.  18,  'the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in 
us '  (Huther).  By  most  commentators  the  words  are  held  to 
be  dependent  on  Kvpiov,  a  connection  which  our  translators, 
following  Tyndale,  have  exhibited  by  the  repetition  of  'the 
Lord,'  and  the  Geneva  version  by  the  rendering,  'our  glo- 
rious Lord  Jesus  Christ'  Bengel's  is  by  far  the  simplest 
construction  ;  but  the  use  of  '  the  Glory '  as  a  personal  appel- 
lation is  not  really  supported  by  the  passages  he  refers  to. 
On  the  whole,  the  common  view  of  the  construction  seems 
the  soundest.  The  government  by  Kvpiov  of  the  two  genitives 
r]fiS>v  and  86^r]s  has  no  difficulty,  similar  constructions  occurring 
several  times  in  the  New  Testament :  see  Winer,  Gram.  § 
30.  3,  note  3,  and  compare  particularly  2  Pet.  iii.  2  in  any  of 
the  critical  editions.  The  insertion  of  'Itjo-ow  y;.pi<Trov  between 
the  governing  and  the  governed  noun  gives  beyond  question 
considerable  harshness  to  the  construction ;  yet  if,  as  may  be 
inferred  from  i  Cor.  ii.  8,  the  name,  '  the  Lord  of  glory,'  was 
a  not  uncommon  designation  of  Jesus  in  the  apostolic  age, 
James  and  his  readers  might  naturally  enough  carry  on  the 
thought  of  'the  Lord'  to  'of  glory,'  even  though  the  name 
comes  between. 

2.  The  aorist  subjunctives  in  this  and  the  following  verse 
appear  to  indicate  priority,  according  to  a  very  common 
use  of  this  part  of  the  verb :  '  if  there  have  come  in,'  etc. 
The  apostle  places  himself  in  thought  at  the  close  of  the 
series  of  incidents  he  supposes,  and  says  to  his  readers,  '  If 
all  these  things  have  happened, — now,  looking  back  over 
them,  what  state  of  heart  in  you  do  you  think  they  revealed  ?' 
The  aorist  subjunctives  thus  come  in  very  naturally,  and  also 
the  aorist  indicatives  in  the  fourth  verse.  In  an  English  ver- 
sion, however,  the  exact  translation  of  a  series  of  aorist  sub- 


CH.  II.  3,4.]     Notes  on  the  Gj'eek  Text.  19 

junctives  like  this  would  sound  very  heavily  and  awkwardly, 
and  therefore  it  seems  better  to  render  them  by  the  subjunc- 
tive of  the  present,  though  after  this  the  past  in  the  questions 
of  the  fourth  verse  comes  in  with  less  naturalness.  Dean 
Alford,  desiring  to  exhibit  the  priority,  yet  feeling  the  awkward- 
ness of  the  literal  translation,  has,  both  in  the  notes  on  the 
passage  in  his  Greek  Testament  and  in  his  Authorized  Version 
Ra'ised,  fallen  into  inconsistency,  rendering  the  aorists  in  the 
second  verse  with  a  'have,'  and  those  in  the  third  by  the 
present. 

^vvaywyr]  is  found  in  the  New  Testament  a  few  times  in  the 
sense  of  '  a  congregation,  assembly ;'  but  in  the  great  majority 
of  instances  it  designates  the  place,  'a  meeting-house.'  The 
name  so  familiar  and  dear  to  the  Jewish  Christians  before 
their  conversion  to  Christianity  seems  to  have  been,  very 
naturally,  retained  by  them  for  their  Christian  churches ;  and, 
to  preserve  the  association,  the  ordinary  rendering  when  the 
reference  is  to  a  Jewish  place  of  religious  assembly,  '  synagogue,' 
should  plainly  be  retained  here. 

For  x/Ji^o-oSaKTwXios  what  we  know  of  the  luxurious  habits  of 
the  rich  in  the  age  when  the  Epistle  was  written  suggests  the 
rendering  'with  gold  rings,'  rather  than  'with  a  gold  ring.' 
The  form  of  the  compound  (which  is  found  only  here)  gives 
no  information  on  this  point ;  for  whilst,  for  example,  ^pwo""- 
Trrepos  means  'with  golden  wings,'  xP^^-oCcovos  means  'with  a 
golden  girdle.' 

3.  The  meaning  of  the  last  part  of  this  verse  may  be,  'and 
say  to  the  poor  man.  Stand  thou  there,  or  (say  to  him), 
Sit  under  my  footstool'  But  it  seems  preferable  to  take  the 
whole  from  'Stand  '  to  the  end,  including  the  'or,'  as  words  of 
address  to  the  poor  man, — the  utter  carelessness  of  the  officers 
of  the  church  as  to  where  he  put  himself,  provided  only  that  it 
was  not  '  in  a  good  place,'  being  thus  forcibly  set  forth. 

4.  With  regard  to  the  use  of  the  aorist  exemplified  in  this 
verse,  see  note  on  chap.  i.  11  ;  and  respecting  the  particular 
point  of  view  here,  see  above,  on  ver.  2.  As  to  the  meaning 
of  hiaKp'iveaBai,  see  note  on  chap.  i.  6  ;  and  as  to  the  force  of  the 


20  The  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  ii.  5,  6. 

genitive  in  Kpirai  BiaXoyia-ncov  TTovqpav,  note  on  chap.  1.  25.  The 
exact  meaning  of  SiaXoyto-/x6f,  as  here  employed,  will  be  found 
illustrated  in  Luke  v.  2  r,  22.  '  Evil-minded  judges '  might  fairly- 
enough,  though  a  little  loosely,  represent  Kpirai  bioKoyia-pau 
7rovTjpu>i> ;  but  from  James's  tone  in  regard  to  'judging'  else- 
where in  the  Epistle,  it  seems  probable  that  here  he  means  to 
point  out  two  faults, — the  needless  constituting  of  themselves 
'judges'  at  all,  and  specially  the  allovv^ing  'evil  thoughts'  to 
have  possession  of  them  in  connection  with  their  judging.  It 
seems  better,  therefore,  to  keep  his  own  order  of  words.  But 
'of  evil  thoughts'  is  so  misleading  in  English,  that  I  have 
deemed  it  better  to  use  '  with  '  instead  of  '  of.' 

5.  Ta  Koa-pco,  which  is  the  best  supported  reading,  may  mean 
'in  the  judgment  of  the  world'  (Winer,  Gram.  §  31.  4,  a); 
but  the  antithesis  suggests  rather  that  more  common  use  of  the 
dative,  according  to  which  it  expresses  the  sphere  or  range  to 
which  a  general  predicate  is  to  be  confined  {e.g.  Rom.  iv.  20, 
fveSwapoidrj  rfj  Triarei) — '  in  (that  is,  as  regards)  the  world.' 

In  f^eXe^aTo  ttXovctiovs  the  construction  is  exactly  analogous  to 
that  in  Rom.  viii.  29,  irpoapia-e  avfifi6p(j)ovs,  '  did  predestinate  fo 
be  conformed.' 

There  is  no  contrast  in  this  verse  between  '  rich  in  faith '  and 
'  poor  in  faith,'  but  between  '  poor  as  regards  worldly  estate ' 
and  '  rich  spiritually.'  We  see,  therefore,  that  Iv  tt'ktth  does 
not  (like  eV  eXe'ei  in  nXovaios  &>v  iv  iXeei,  Eph.  ii.  4)  indicate  the 
material  of  which  the  wealth  consists,  but  the  sphere  or 
element  in  which  the  wealth  is  enjoyed  and  recognised.  A 
literal  English  translation  is  ambiguous,  but  not  more  so  than 
the  Greek. 

6.  'AripaCfiv  means  '  to  s/iorc  contempt;'  whereas  'despised,' 
the  rendering  of  the  authorized  version  (as  indeed  of  all  the 
principal  English  translations  except  the  Rheims),  expresses 
merely  the  feeling.  In  other  places  of  the  New  Testament 
where  the  word  occurs  it  is  generally  translated  '  dishonour,' 
and  nowhere  but  here  by  '  despise.' 

The  avToX  in  this  verse  might  bear  the  translation  'them- 
selves,'  but  that  in   the   next  would  have   no   meanins:,    so 


CH.  II.  8-14.]    Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  2 1 

rendered.     It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  force  of  both  is  such 
as  has  been  given  in  the  version. 

8.  The  connection  intended  by  the  adversative  /xeWot  is  not 
clear.  Tyndale,  followed  by  our  authorized  version,  has  left 
it  untranslated,  apparently  considering  it  as  simply  equivalent 
to  /xeV ;  but  Wycliffe,  rightly,  has  '  netheles,'  and  the  Rheims 
'  notwithstanding.'  By  Calvin,  Beza,  Huther,  Wiesinger,  and 
others,  the  sense  is  supposed  to  be  semi-ironical,  thus  :  '  If, 
however,  (in  caring  for  these  rich  as  ye  do,)  ye  are  (according 
to  your  own  conceptions)  fulfilling  the  royal  law,  so  far  well.' 
Alford  takes  the  meaning  to  be,  '  If,  however,  (notwithstanding 
these  cruelties  and  blasphemies  of  the  rich,)  ye  (in  your  dealings 
with  them  as  with  others)  fulfil  the  royal  law,  that  is  well.'  A 
simpler  and  more  natural  view  than  either  of  these  seems  to 
me  to  be,  that  the  apostle  merely  pauses  for  a  moment  in  his 
strain  of  exposure  and  rebuke  of  sin,  to  throw  in  the  kindly 
remark  that,  though  addressing  his  readers  generally  in  this 
strain,  still  he  knew  there  were  many  among  them  who  did  not 
merit  condemnation  in  reference  to  the  matter  in  hand  :  '  If, 
however,  (lamentably  prevalent  as  I  know  such  respect  of  persons 
as  I  have  described  to  be,)  ye  (any  to  whom  this  letter  comes) 
fulfil  the  royal  law  (by  avoiding  respect  of  persons),  ye  do  well.' 

9.  To  afiapriav  epyd^eade  there  is  an  expression  exactly  parallel 
in  Matt.  vii.  23,  ol  ipya^oyavoi.  TTju  dvofiiav,  rendered  in  the 
authorized  version  'ye  that  work  iniquity;'  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  we  should  deviate  here  from  the  ordinary  transla- 
tion of  epydCea-dac.  The  phrase  with  this  verb,  as  Theile  ob- 
serves, ''  gravius  fere  est  qiiam  dfiaprlav  noLe'iu,  dp-apTaveiv.^ 

13.  Regarding  the  rendering  of  KaraKavxarai.,  compare  note 
on  chap.  i.  9. 

14.  In  77  TTia-Tis  the  use  of  the  article  is  precisely  the  same  as 
in  chap.  i.  4,  17  i)Tvop.ovr],  and  i.  15,  17  afiapria,  'faith'  having  been 
made  definite  by  being  mentioned  immediately  before.  Con- 
sequently, though  the  rendering  '  t/iis  faith '  would  be  some- 
what too  strong,  yet  the  meaning  plainly  is  '  the  faith  which  the 
man  supposed  says  he  has ' — '  such  faith  as  there  is  in  a  case  of 
the   kind  supposed.'     The  question  is  not  one  of  universal 


2  2  The  Epistle  of  yames.    [ch.  ii.  15-18. 

reference,  'Can  faith  save?'  but,  'In  the  case  supposed,  can 
the  faith  there  found  save  ?'  The  speciahy  of  the  reference  is 
shown  further  by  the  pronoun  ahrov. 

15.  The  connection  marked  by  Se  here  is  somewhat  like 
this  :  '  The  answer  to  the  question  whether  faith  that  has  not 
works  can  save  a  man  may  perhaps  not  be  altogether  obvious 
to  you,  but  take  a  similar  case  with  regard  to  charity,  and  you 
will  see  the  matter  clearly.'  Our  English  idiom,  far  less  lively 
than  the  Greek  in  the  indicating  of  the  more  subtle  links  of 
thought,  requires  8e  to  be  translated  by  '  and '  in  many  cases 
where  the  contrast  is  but  slight,  as,  for  example,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  ver.  16 ;  and  in  the  case  before  us  the  omission  of 
the  conjunction  seems  necessary  in  translation. 

The  construction  which  we  have  in  this  verse,  of  a  predicate 
in  the  plural  with  a  subject  consisting  of  singulars  disjoined  by 
T],  is  frequently  found  in  classical  Greek  (see  Klihner,  Gram. 
§  242,  note  4) ;  but  the  other  and  more  strictly  logical  con- 
struction is  the  usual  one  in  the  New  Testament  (see  Winer, 
Gram.  §  58.  6,  b).  The  unexpressed  thought  leading  a  writer  to 
make  the  predicate  to  such  a  subject  plural  (in  the  case  before 
us,  'a  brother  or  sister,  or  any  number  of  them  ')  is  well  shown 
here  by  the  use  in  the  next  verse  of  the  plural  of  the  pronoun 
of  reference,  airo^s.  A  very  similar  logical  irregularity  occurs 
in  the  i6th  verse,  in  the  use  of  the  second  person  plural  Score, 
where,  in  strict  correspondence  to  the  e'lTrr)  ns  of  the  former  part 
of  the  sentence,  the  third  person  singular  should  stand. 

17.  The  authorized  version,  with  many  of  the  older  com- 
mentators, takes  Kad''  iavTTjv  here  as  employed  in  the  same  way 
as  Kad'  eavTov  in  Acts  xxviii.  i6,  regarding  it  as  equivalent  to 
Ka6'  iavTrjv  cvaa.  Wycliffe,  Tyndale,  and  the  rest  of  the  earlier 
translators  (following  the  Vulgate,  /;/  semet  ipsa),  render  the 
phrase  by  '  in  itself,'  connecting  it  immediately  with  '  dead.' 
The  position  of  the  words  and  the  course  of  thought  decidedly 
support  this  view  of  the  meaning, — '  dead  in  itself,' — not  as 
regards  the  production  of  fruit  merely,  but  to  the  very  root. 

18.  The  way  in  which  aXX'  epet  rts  is  used  in  i  Cor.  xv.  35, 
and  the  similar  epeTs  oZv  fioc  in  Rom.  ix.  19,  naturally  leads  a 


CH.  II.  19.]      Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  23 

reader  to  think  that  here  also  we  have  an  objector  to  the 
apostle's  argument  introduced ;    and  accordingly  various   at- 
tempts have  been  made  by  commentators  (Kern,  Huther,  and 
others)  to  explain  the  words  that  follow  on  this  view.     These 
explanations  seem  all  forced  and  unnatural,  except  perhaps 
that  according  to  which  o-i — Kd-yw  are  taken  as  equivalent  to 
f/XXo? — Ka\  aXXos,  and  the  remark  supposed  to  be,  '  One  has 
faith,  and  another  works  (and  perhaps  either  may  save  a  man).' 
Then  what  follows  is  held  to  be  James's  answer  to  this  obser- 
vation.    But  the  curtness  and  obscurity  of  the  words,  supposing 
them  to  have  been  intended  to  bear  this  sense,  are  sufficient, 
when  we  remember  James's  habitual  explicitness  of  style,  to 
make  it  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that  such  was  his 
meaning.     The  words,  naturally  understood,  plainly  express 
James's  own  sentiments ;  and  hence  the  opinion  of  the  great 
majority  of  interpreters  has  been  that,  simply  to  give  liveliness 
to  the  discussion,  he  introduces  an  interlocutor  on  his  own  side 
of  the  question.     The  force  of  dWa  here  seems  to  be  '  But 
further,'  introducing  a  yet  stronger  statement,  and  is  excellently 
given  by  the  'yea'  of  the  authorized  version,  or  Tyndale's 
'yea,  and.'     A  very  similar  use  of  dXka  occurs  in  Mark  xiii. 
24.     With  regard  to  the  use  of  the  future  epel,  where  a  less 
decided  form   might  seem  more  natural,  see  Winer,   Gram. 
§  40.  6. 

19.  In  the  New  Testament  6  StajSoXos  is  regularly  used  for 
Satan,  the  prince  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  Saifiouiov  (or,  a  few 
times,  daifiav)  as  regularly,  as  here,  for  one  of  his  subordinate 
agents.  Clearly,  therefore,  a  translation  also  ought  to  recog- 
nise one  '  devil,'  many  '  demons.' 

Alford  objects  to  rendering  Tna-Tevova-i  here  'believe  ?/,' 
saying  that  the  meaning  is  not  merely  'believe  this  truth,' 
but  '  ^/lus  far  are  believers  in  common  with  thyself.'  But  this 
'thus  far'  (which,  of  course,  must  belong  to  the  thought, — 
otherwise  the  specification  in  the  previous  clause  of  the  par- 
ticular truth  believed  would  be  altogether  irrelevant)  is,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  exactly  what  is  suggested  by  '  it.'  For  the  idea 
of '  thus  far '  the  Greek  idiom  did  not  in  a  case  like  this,  where 


24  The  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.il  20-24. 

it  is  quite  unemphatic,  employ  a  pronoun  ;  ours  does.  Similarly, 
in  German,  Luther  and  De  Wette  both  have  '■  glauhen  es.' 

'  Tremble '  is  somewhat  too  weak  for  (PplcTo-ovcn,  (fipia-a-eiv 
being  exactly  equivalent  to  the  Latin  horrere.  But  we  seem 
to  have  no  better  representative,  neither  'shudder'  nor  'quake' 
being  quite  suitable. 

20.  Both  the  readings  viKph.  and  apyr]  have  good  manuscript 
authority,  but  the  latter  is  decidedly  to  be  preferred,  because 
while  there  was  considerable  chance  of  a  transcriber  changing 
it  into  vfKpa,  which  occurs  in  verses  17  and  26,  there  was  very 
little  of  his  altering  v^Kph  into  a  word  which  does  not  occur 
elsewhere  in  the  Epistle,  and  indeed  but  rarely  in  the  New 
Testament.  'Ap^j)  plainly  does  not  mean  here  merely  '  idle '  in 
regard  to  the  works  of  holiness  that  faith  ought  to  produce,  for 
thus  we  should  have  only  the  statement  that  '  faith  without 
works  is  without  works.'  It  is  obviously  used  with  a  reference 
to  the  great  question  which  is  the  subject  of  the  whole  discus- 
sion, '  Can  a  faith  which  has  no  works  save  a  man'  (ver.  14)? 
'Apyi),  then,  means  '  unproductive,  unfruitful '  of  the  blessings 
of  salvation  ;  and  thus  the  connection  with  what  follows  is 
most  natural  and  close,  for  the  apostle  proceeds  to  show  that 
in  all  cases  where  faith  is  known  to  have  been  justifying, 
'  productive '  of  salvation,  such  as  those  of  Abraham  and  Rahab, 
it  evidently  had  works.  As  apyh^  is  used  by  Peter  (2d  Epist. 
i.  8),  it  seems  very  nearly  equivalent  to  the  aKapiros  with  which 
it  is  joined  :  and  in  classical  authors  the  word  is  applied  to 
'unproductive'  capital  or  fields  (see,  in  Liddell  and  Scott's 
Lexicon,  references  to  Xenophon,  Demosthenes,  and  Isocrates). 

23.  Where  the  passage  here  cited  originally  occurs  (in  Gen. 
XV.  6)  the  LXX.  begin  the  sentence  with  koI  ;  but  where  it  is 
quoted  in  the  New  Testament,  both  here  and  in  Rom.  iv.  3,  Se 
is  substituted.  Winer  considers  that  this  was  done  of  set  pur- 
pose, and  that  it  '  renders  enia-Tevde  more  forcible,  not  to  say 
almost  antithetical'  {Gram.  §  53.  10,  2). 

24.  Moj/oj/  belongs  closely  to  Trlarecos.  A  construction  some- 
what similar  is  that  of  the  adverbial  phrase  Kad'  vTrep^okrju  with 
oSoi/,  in  I  Cor.  xii.  31.     Compare  Winer,  Gram.  §  54.  2,  If. 


CH.  II.  25,  26.]   Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  25 

25.  In  fK^oKova-a,  as  distinguished  from  eKuiyi^aa-a,  the  idea 
of  urgency  is  no  doubt  implied,  but  this  cannot  well  be  given 
in  an  EngHsh  version  without  overstating  it.  '  Thrust  forth,' 
Alford's  rendering  (after  that  of  the  authorized  version  in  Acts 
xvi.  37,  which  there  is  suitable  enough),  seems  to  me  objection- 
able on  this  ground. 

26.  Winer  {Gram.  §  18.  8)  refers  to  to  awfia  x^P'S'  nvevfxaTos 
as  a  case  where  the  article  may  with  equal  propriety  be  either 
employed  or  omitted.  Xaph  rod  nvexmaros  would  mean  '  with- 
out the  spirit'  connected  with  the  particular  body  in  question, 
whilst,  as  the  words  stand  in  the  passage,  the  thought  is  in 
form  more  general,  though,  of  course,  substantially  the  same. 


26  The  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  iii.  i- 


CHAPTER    III. 

Ver.  I.  On  the  New  Testament  use  of  the  imperative  of 
ylveaBai,  See  note  on  I.  2  2.  IloXXot  may  be  regarded  as  be- 
longing to  the  subject,  limiting  it — 'Be  not,  many  of  you, 
teachers ;'  or  it  may  be  considered  a  part  of  the  predicate 
— 'Be  ye  not  a  multitude  of  teachers'  (compare  the  use  of 
TToXXol  ytVeff^m, '  to  become  a  multitude,' Gen.  vi.  i,  LXX.).  De 
Wette,  Huther,  and  others,  prefer  the  former;  Beza,  Schneck- 
enburger,  Lange,  the  latter, — which  is  evidently  also  the  view 
of  the  meaning  set  forth  in  the  rendering  of  the  authorized 
version,  and  by  Tyndale  and  the  Geneva  in  their  somewhat 
paraphrastic  translation,  '  Be  not  every  man  a  master.'  If  the 
latter  view  of  the  sense  be  the  true  one,  we  can  scarcely  but 
recognise  in  the  form  of  the  exhortation  a  touch  of  something 
very  like  grave  humour.  There  is  no  very  strong  argument  to 
constrain  a  decision  either  way,  but  probability  seems  to  me 
slightly  in  favour  of  the  opinion  that  ttoXXoI  belongs  to  the  pre- 
dicate ;  and  therefore,  with  only  the  substitution  of  '  teachers ' 
for  the  now  misleading 'masters,'  I  have  retained  the  render- 
ing of  the  authorized  version,  which  Alford  also  has  done, 
though  supporting  in  his  note  Huther's  view. 

2.  IloXXa  is  ofteTi  used  adverbially  in  the  New  Testament,  as 
in  classical  authors,  in  the  sense  of  'often'  (Matt.  ix.  14)  or 
'  much '  (Mark  i.  45).  But  here  the  apostle  seems  by  the  word 
to  indicate  the  many  7i)ays  in  which  we  may  offend,  from  which 
immediately  afterwards  one  way,  ev  Xo'yw,  is  singled  out  for 
special  remark.  It  is  to  be  regarded  therefore  as  an  accusative 
of  reference,  '  in  many  things.' 

3.  'iSoi-,  with  which  the  tcxtiis  receptus  begins  this  verse,  has 
very  little  manuscript  authority;  i'Se  is  better  supported;  but  by 
far  the  best  authenticated  reading  is  d  8e.  The  course  of  error 
is  obvious.     A  copyist  writing  to  dictation  might  easily,  from 


CH.  III.  5.]       Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  27 

the  similarity  of  sound,  substitute  "ihc  for  d  hi  (comp.  Rom.  ii. 
17,  various  readings),  and  then  tSe  might  most  readily  be 
changed  into  its  synonym  Ihov  for  the  sake  of  uniformity,  this 
latter  form  presenting  itself  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  verse, 
and  also  in  the  fifth.  The  connection  marked  by  Se  here  seems 
to  be  exactly  of  the  same  kind  as  in  ii.  15,  on  which  see  note  : 
'  This  may  appear  to  you  a  very  strange  saying,  that  the  man 
who  can  control  his  tongue  can  bridle  also  the  whole  body ;  but 
an  analogy  may  illustrate  and  enforce  it,  an  analogy  from  man's 
dealing  with  the  horse,  whose  whole  body  is  governed  when  the 
tongue  is  brought  under  restraint.'  In  an  English  version,  our 
idiom  requires  the  omission  of  the  conjunction  here,  as  in  ii. 
15.  Et  here  has  plainly  the  sense  of  'if  (as  we  regularly  do),' 
that  is,  very  nearly,  '  when.'  The  arrangement  of  words  shows 
the  emphasis  to  rest  on  ruiv  "nnraiv,  the  case  of  the  animal 
being  adduced  to  illustrate  that  of  man ;  and  an  endeavour  has 
been  made  to  exhibit  this  in  the  version  also. 

The  link  of  thought  shown  in  the  original  by  xa^i-^ayi^yw^i- — 
xaXivovs  cannot  be  made  very  obvious  in  an  English  version ; 
for  we  can  neither  without  awkwardness  put  '  bridle '  instead 
of '  bit,'  nor  employ  such  a  compound  as  '  bridle-bit.' 

5.  Both  oXiyov  and  tjXlkov,  as  the  adjective  to  nvp,  have  good 
manuscript  authority,  the  latter  somewhat  the  stronger.  If 
Tj'KiKov  be  read,  then  the  natural  rendering  is,  '  How  great  a  fire 
lights  up  how  great  a  forest !' — the  conflagration  being  looked 
at  in  its  ultimate  extent,  and  the  smallness  of  the  spark  that 
originated  it  merely  suggested  by  the  context.  So  De  Wette 
translates.  With  this,  however,  as  Wiesinger  points  out,  the 
verb  dvdnTfi  does  not  suit ;  for  '  consumes '  would  be  required, 
whilst  it  means  '  kindles.'  Huther  and  Alford  take  rjXiKov  in 
the  sense  of  '  how  small,'  translating  '  How  small  a  fire  kindles 
how  great  a  forest!'  But  to  employ  the  same  word  in  one 
sentence  in  the  sense  of  '  how  small '  and  '  how  great '  is  cer- 
tainly harsh,  and  altogether  alien  to  James's  ordinary  style. 
The  form  of  expression  in  English  most  nearly  corresponding, 
'What  a  fire  kindles  what  a  forest!'  is,  if  taken  in  this  sense, 
not  nearly  so  strained  as  the  Greek,  because  '  what  a'  is  much 


28  The  Epistle  of  James.         [ch.  hi.  6. 

more  a  phrase  of  undecided  signification  than  tjXlkos,  which 
always,  in  the  first  instance,  clearly  and  distinctly  suggests  to 
the  reader  '  how  ^reaf  ! '  Considering,  then,  how  easily  a  mis- 
take of  eye  or  ear  might  lead  a  transcriber  to  substitute  jjXikoi/ 
for  oXiyov,  seeing  that,  as  Bengel  says,  J>/a//a  est  alliteratio  ad 
rfK'iKTjv  suhsequens,  it  seems  best  to  hold  (with  Bengel,  Kern, 
Theile,  Wiesinger)  by  the  textus  receptus. 

By  many  v\r]v  is  taken  in  the  general  sense  given  by  the 
rendering  in  the  text  of  the  authorized  version,  'matter.'  So 
Jerome  {ifi  Esai.  66),  '■Parvus  ignis  qiiam  grandevi  succendit 
mato-iam  / '  So  also  Tyndale  and  the  Geneva,  '  How  great  a 
thing  a  little  fire  kindleth  !'  Beza  specifies  '■  struem  lignorum' 
But  certainly  much  more  life  and  beauty  are  given  to  the 
image  if  we  take  the  word  in  its  original  sense,  which  our 
translators  have  given  in  the  margin  as  an  alternative  render- 
ing, '  a  wood '  or  '  forest.' 

6.  Ourtus  before  the  second  jj  yXaaaa  having  no  good  autho- 
rity, some  interpreters  make  the  first  clause  of  the  verse  a 
short  sentence  by  itself,  and  then  join  6  Koo-/io<r  to  what  follows. 
Thus  Neander  translates  :  '  As  the  world  full  of  unrighteousness 
stands  the  tongue  among  our  members,  defiling  the  whole 
body,'  etc.  But  this  seems  a  harsh  construction,  and  it  is  better 
to  adhere  to  the  ordinary,  putting  6  Koa-fios  in  apposition  with 

the  first  Tj  yXtocrcra. 

The  article  before  koo-hos  means  'the  (well-known).'  Our 
idiom  commonly  employs  '  that '  in  such  a  case,  particularly 
where,  as  here,  we  have  after  the  predicate  words  which  are, 
and  must  be  shown  to  be,  not  an  addition  to  the  predicate,  but 
in  apposition  with  the  subject. 

Kadla-Tarai  is  here,  and  in  iv.  4,  most  inadequately  rendered 
by  'is.'  In  2  Pet.  i.  8  the  active  of  the  verb  is  rightly  ren- 
dered by  'make,'  and  in  Rom.  v.  19  the  passive  by  'be  made.' 
So  here  and  in  the  next  chapter  the  middle  voice  (for  middle 
the  form  seems  to  be)  has  no  doubt  some  such  force  as  '  maketh 
itself,'  '  maketh  himself  The  tongue  is  a  bold  and  powerful 
agent  of  mischief,  which  among  the  members  'takes  the  posi- 
tion of,'  '  steps  forward  as '  {Sie  stellt  sich  hin,  tritt  aiif,  Wie- 


CH.  III.  6.]       Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  29 

singer)  the  chief  moral  corrupter.  Thus  Kadia-TaTm,  setting 
forth  strictly  the  initial  movement,  corresponds  to  avdnTei  of 
the  preceding  verse. 

Wiesinger  regards  koX  (pXayiCovcTa — koI  (pXoyi^ojiivq  as  subor- 
dinate to  (TTTiKova-a,  being  explanatory  of  it, — '  both  setting  on 
fire,  etc.,  and  being  set  on  fire,'  etc.  This  construction,  though 
legitimate,  is  not  necessary,  for  the  participles  may  all  be 
co-ordinate.  But  the  fact  that  all  three  have  but  one  article 
shows  them  to  belong  very  closely  to  each  other;  comp.  iv. 
II,  14. 

The  expression  rov  Tpo^ov  Trj^  yevea-eas  is  difficult,  and  has 
received  a  vast  number  of  interpretations.  The  idea  of  a 
'course'  may  be  set  aside  at  once,  for  'to  set  a  course  on  fire' 
seems  language  that  has  no  definite  meaning.  In  the  accented 
manuscripts,  too,  we  find  rpoxw,  not  rpoxov :  now  the  gram- 
marians confine  the  sense  of  'course'  to  the  latter  (Winer, 
Gra7)t.  §  6.  2).  Tpoxo?  is  applied  to  anything  circular,  a 
'  wheel,  hoop,  orb.'  reVeo-i?  means  '  birth,  origin,'  with  various 
secondary  applications.  The  closeness  of  the  relation  of  the 
participial  clauses  to  each  other  (see  above)  seems  to  require  a 
reference  to  the  individual  life  and  character;  and  support  to 
a  certain  extent  is  given  to  this  conclusion  by  the  fact,  that  in 
the  only  other  place  where  James  uses  the  word  yivea-is  (i.  23) 
it  means  '  the  birth'  of  the  individual  spoken  of.  ^Vo.  are  not 
of  necessity,  however,  led  (with  Wiesinger,  who  is  brought  to 
this  view  of  the  meaning  by  his  construction  of  the  participles, 
above  mentioned)  to  deem  tov  rpoxov  t^s  yeveaecos  as  almost  a 
synonym  for  oXov  t6  o-mpa,  a  sense  which  the  figure  cannot  well 
be  brought  to  yield.  If  a  reference  to  the  individual  must  be 
looked  for,  this  at  once  sets  aside  the  view  held  by  many, 
that  by  the  image  is  indicated  the  succession  of  generations  ; 
and  also  the  rendering  of  De  Wette,  Alford,  and  others,  '  the 
orb  of  the  creation'  (the  words  being  taken  as  equivalent  to  t6v 
kvkXov  t^s  KTicreccs),  which  appears,  besides,  too  strong  a  hyper- 
bole to  be  really  effective  for  James's  hortatory  purpose.  It 
appears  to  me  that  something  like  '  the  wheel '  (or  '  the  revolving 
circle,'  the  thought  of  motion  which  we  instinctively  associate 


30  The  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  hi.  8- 1 4. 

with  'wheel'  being  very  prominent  in  Tpox°^-:  through  its  etymo- 
logical connection  with  rpix'^)  'of  one's  life'  (a  sense  in  which 
yei/eo-ts  is  found  in  Plato  :  see  De  Wette), — or,  with  the  same 
sense,  but  keeping  to  the  meaning  of  ykveais  in  i.  23,  and 
regarding  the  genitive  here,  as  there,  as  one  of  origin,  '  the 
birth-given'  (that  is,  'natural')  'revolving  circle,' — is  the  trans- 
lation that  exhibits  the  apostle's  thought.  In  regard  to  the 
meaning,  see  the  Lecture  on  the  passage. 

8.  ^ h.KaTa(jTaTov  has  better  manuscript  support  than  aKaTuax^-rov, 
the  reading  of  the  received  text.  The  rendering  '  unstable,' 
given  of  the  word  in  i.  8,  would  be  weak  in  its  connection 
here,  and  therefore  'restless'  has  been  substituted. 

Winer  {Gravi.  §  59.  8,  b)  regards  aKaTaa-jarov  Kamv  and 
nea-TT]  lov  6avaTr](p6pov  as  exclamations,  annexed  with  an  inde- 
pendent constmction.  But  it  is  at  least  equally  natural  to 
take  them  as  our  translators  have  done  ;  only,  'it  is'  must  be 
suppHed  before  'full,'  as  well  as  before  the  previous  words, 
because  the  gender  of  pedTf]  shows  that  it  is  not  in  immediate 
connection  with  kqkov,  but  attached  as  a  predicate  to  17  yXacrcrd 
iuTiv  understood. 

13.  '  Conversation'  is  now  unquestionably  misleading  as  the 
representative  in  English  of  dfaarpoiprj.  Yet  one  cannot  but 
regret  having  to  abandon  it,  for  etymologically  it  is  a  perfect 
rendering. 

14.  'Epideia  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  epcs,  as  our  trans- 
lators and  many  interpreters  have  done.  The  words  are 
expressly  distinguished  in  2  Cor.  xii.  20  and  Gal.  v.  20;  and 
indeed,  if  etymologically  connected  with  each  other  at  all,  they 
are  so  only  remotely.  'Epidela  is  from  epidos,  '  a  hired  servant,' 
and  therefore  means  originally  '  labouring  for  wages,'  and  hence 
'  self-seeking,  factiousness,  caballing.'  See  Alford  on  Rom.  ii. 
8 ;  or  Lightfoot,  Ellicott,  or  Eadie  on  Gal.  v.  20. 

The  apostle  having  chosen  to  employ  the  compound  Kara- 
Kavxda-de,  apparently  to  show  clearly  that  he  meant  tt]!  dXrjOeias 
to  be  in  connection  with  it  as  well  as  with  yj^evdea-de,  it  seems 
desirable  to  bring  this  out  in  translation,  even  though  the 
double  '  against'  sounds  a  little  oddly. 


CH.  III.  1 5- 1 7-]  Notes  oil  the  Greek  Text.  31 

15.  In  regard  to  ecrrti/  auadeu  KaTepxoufvrj,  see  note  on  i.  17. 

On  the  rendering  of  Satjuoi/tcoS?;?,  compare  note  on  ii.  19. 

17.  The  verbal  adjectives  in  -tos  are  used  with  some  variety 
of  meaning,  but  in  regard  to  dSiaKpiTos  and  avviroKpiros  here 
there  cannot  be  very  much  doubt.  'H  <To(pia  (that  is,  here, 
6  (To(j)6s)  dvvnoKpiTos  icniv  is  plainly  equivalent  to  6  a-o<p6s  ovx 
vnoKpiveraL  (middle  voice).  Similarly,  therefore,  ddiaKpiros  is 
naturally  taken  to  mean  ov  SiaKpiveTai  (middle) ;  and  it  is  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  hiaKpiveaQai  here  has  the  same  meaning  as 
elsewhere  in  the  Epistle.  In  regard  to  its  meaning,  see  note 
on  i.  6. 


32  The  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  iv.  1-3. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Ver.  I.  'EireC^ei'  directs  attention  to  the  statement  of  the 
source  of  the  wars,  which  follows :  similarly  in  i.  27,  ovrx]  ia-riv. 
The  word  not  being  employed  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment except  with  a  local  reference,  Michaelis  regards  it  as 
used  here  in  the  same  way  as  in  John  xviii.  36,  where  it  is 
equivalent  to  c'k  tov  Koafiov  tovtov,  and  would  render  therefore, 
'  Come  they  not  from  this  world'  (as  in  iii.  15  the  false  wisdom 
is  described  as  eVi'yetos), — 'even  of  your  lusts?'  This  is  in- 
genious, but  the  other  is  much  more  obvious  and  natural,  and 
the  causal  use  of  evreiideu  is  common  in  classical  authors. 

'u8ovfi,  properly  *  pleasure,'  is  clearly  used  here  for  '  the 
desire  of  pleasure.''    So  in  Xen.  Memor.  i.  2,  Iv  rw  alr^  aaiiaTi 

(TviJ.7re(pvTev^evai  rfj  '^pvxjj  al  rjSoval  TTfidovaiv  avrrjv  nrj  cra)(})pov€lv, 
aXKa  TTjv  Tax'iCTTrjv  eavrals  re  kol  ra  crajxaTi  xapi^eaOai. 

2.  <boveveTe  is  difficult ;  but  there  is  no  various  reading  to 
help  us.  Erasmus  (followed  by  Luther,  Calvin,  Beza,  Tyndale, 
and  many  others)  adopted  (pdove'ire  from  conjecture ;  and 
Grotius  suggested  (})ovaTe,  from  the  rare  verb  (f)ovaa>,  '  I  am 
athirst  for  blood,  murderous.'  But  mere  conjecture  we  dare 
not  accept  in  dealing  with  the  text  of  the  Word  of  God. 

3.  The  use  of  the  active  alrelre  between  two  middles,  alre^a-Bai 
and  ahe'ia-de,  is  odd,  it  being  impossible  to  discern  any  differ- 
ence in  meaning.  Wiesinger  attempts  to  exhibit  a  distinc- 
tion, but  unsuccessfully.  In  i  John  v.  14,  15,  16  we  have  a 
similar  mingling  of  the  voices  in  the  case  of  this  same  verb ; 
there,  however,  a  distinction  is  apparent,  in  that,  where  the 
active  is  used,  the  petition  is  expressly  said  to  be  on  behalf 
of  another.  But  compare  also  Luke  xv.  6,  9,  o-vy/caXel — a-vyKa- 
Xetrai. 

'El/  rats  f]8ovais  tanavav  is  not  exactly  '  to  consume  upon  the 
lusts,'  as  the  authorized  version  has  it,  for  this  would  require 


CH.  IV.  4>  5-]    Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  33 

ftf.     The  eV  marks  the  sphere  in  which  the  expenditure  takes 
place,  '  in,  in  gratifying.'     Practically,  the  sense  is  the  same. 

4.  That  iJLOLxa^Lbes  alone  is  the  true  reading,  seems  beyond 
reasonable  dispute.  Codices  A,  B,  and  Sinaiticus  have  it. 
From  the  somewhat  startling  character  of  the  expression  it  is 
easy  to  see  how  fioixol  koX  might  come  to  be  prefixed ;  whilst, 
supposing  the  original  to  have  had  all  three  words,  the  omis- 
sion of  the  first  two  is  inexplicable.  Tischendorf  in  his  seventh 
edition  remarks  on  the  passage,  '  Loco  identidein  considerato, 
non  possum  quin  teneani  etiammim  Icctionem  jam  in  editione 
a?ini  1841  ^  me  defensam^  that  is,  ixoixaXlBes  alone. 

'  Friendship  Tinf/i  the  Avorld '  is  substituted  in  the  version 
for  'friendship  a/  the  world,'  the  mutual  character  of  the 
relation  being  thus  made  more  clear,  and  uniformity  of  ex- 
pression established  (corresponding  to  that  in  the  original) 
with  the  antithesis,  '  enmity  with  God.'  In  regard  to  the  force 
of  Kadia-rarai,  See  note  on  iii.  6. 

5.  The  meaning  of  this  very  difficult  verse  is  so  fully  dis- 
cussed in  the  Lecture,  that  comparatively  little  needs  to  be 
said  here.  The  only  question  of  any  importance  regarding 
the  text  has  reference  to  the  respective  claims  of  KaT(pKr]a-ev  of 
the  tcxtus  7-eceptus  and  KaraiKicreu.  The  latter  has  the  great 
weight  of  Codices  B  and  Sinaiticus  in  its  favour.  Codex  A 
has  KaTcoK€i(Tfv,  which  may  have  sprung  by  itacism  from  either 
of  the  others.  Having  the  support  of  the  most  ancient  manu- 
scripts, and  being  perhaps  rather  the  more  difficult  reading, 
KaTciKiaev  is  probably  the  true  word,  though  there  is  good  au- 
thority for  the  received  text  also.  The  view  of  the  meaning 
according  to  which  irpos  (pdoi/ov  ennrodel  means  'jealously  de- 
sireth,'  is  exposed  to  the  objection  (an  extremely  grave  one, 
as  it  seems  to  me)  that  nowhere  is  (f)66vos  used,  like  C'i^os,  of 
the  divine  jealousy,  or  indeed  in  any  but  a  bad  sense ;  and 
therefore,  if  appHed  to  God,  it  would  have  sounded  as  offen- 
sively in  the  ears  of  James's  readers  as  '  envy '  would  in  ours,- 
and  this  even  if  taken  not  as  '  invidiose'  simply,  but  as  '  usque  ad 
ifividiatn^  Then  in  addition,  if  (with  De  Wette,  Huther  in  his 
first  edition,  Alford,  and  others)  we  take  irvevfia  as  subject, 

c 


34  The  Epistle  of  James.  [ch.  iv.  5. 

enmoBel  most  unnaturally  lacks  an  object  (contrast,  for  ex- 
ample, Phil.  i.  8,  cos  iniTToBa}  ivavTas  v[j.as) ;  whilst  if  (with  Theile, 
Wiesinger,  and  Huther  in  his  second  edition)  we  take  irvivjxa 
as  object,  and  therefore  in  the  sense  of  'the  Jnonan  spirit,' 
we  oppose  the  usage  of  the  whole  New  Testament  in  regard 
to  this  peculiar  thought,  the  '  indwelling  Spirit.' 

A  case  of  Xeyet  ending  a  question,  with  the  force  of  '  saith  it,' 
the  '  it '  referring  to  what  precedes  (very  similar,  therefore,  to  what 
is  found  in  this  verse,  according  to  the  view  of  the  meaning 
supported  in  the  Lecture),  occurs  in  i  Cor.  ix.  10.  There, 
however,  the  reference  is  to  a  direct  quotation,  not  merely  to 
the  general  teaching  of  Scripture  on  the  subject  under  dis- 
cussion. 

The  meaning  of  eirnrode'iu  np6s  is  illustrated  by  the  use  of  the 
phrase  in  the  Septuagint,  at  the  beginning  of  the  42 d  Psalm : 

''Ov  TpoTTOv  iivviToQei  t)   eXa(pos   enl   ras  'nr)yas  twv   vbdriav,  ovtcos  ini- 

TTodel  fj  yj/Dxi  H-ov  7r,oos  ae,  6  Qeos.  This  passage  favours  the 
ordinary  rendering  of  irpos  (pSovov  ;  and  whilst  it  cannot  be 
held  to  have  weight  against  the  construction  of  irpos  rpdovov  as 
equivalent  to  an  adverb,  this  use  of  Tvpos  being  common  in 
classical  writers,  it  certainly  may  be  adduced  with  great  force 
in  opposition  to  the  rendering  of  I.uther,  Bengel,  Stier,  and 
others,  '  against  envy.'  It  is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable 
that  to  any  Hellenistic  reader,  accustomed  to  the  words  eVt- 
TTodel  irpos  0-e,  6  Qeos,  James's  Trpos  (})d6vov  ininode'i  would  ever  sug- 
gest 'againsl.'  To  express  'lusteth  against,'  Paul  (Gal.  v.  17) 
uses  the  regular  and  unambiguous  construction  of  Kara  with 
the  genitive.  The  use  of  npos  in  the  sense  of  'against'  rarely 
occurs  except  in  connection  with  verbs  or  phrases  containing 
the  notion  of  hostiUty  (compare  Luke  xxiii.  12,  Acts  vi.  i ; 
and  see  Winer,  Gram.  §  49,  on  Trpos),  and  never,  one  may 
safely  say,  with  such  a  verb  as  ewinode'li'. 

Supposing  the  beginning  of  the  42d  Psalm,  which  has  been 
quoted,  to  have  been  familiar  to  James's  first  readers  (a 
supposition  in  every  way  probable,  when  we  consider  how 
familiar  it  is  now  to  devout  Christians),  may  not  an  explana- 
tion of  the    apostle's    use   of    the   peculiar   expression   np6s 


CH,  IV.  6.]       Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  35 

cf)66vov  fTTinodd,  and  a  key  to  the  meaning  of  the  passage,  be 
found  in  the  idea  that  he  intended  to  carry  their  minds  back 
to  the  psalm  ?  The  use  of  the  words  '  panteth  after,'  in  any 
rehgious  connection,  would,  I  apprehend,  at  once  suggest  that 
verse  to  the  minds  of  most  Christians  who  know  the  English 
Bible  at  all  well ;  and  in  all  likelihood  (irmodel  irpbs  would 
do  the  same  to  the  minds  of  the  Jewish  Christians,  the  more 
especially  as  imnodel  occurs  twice  in  the  verse,  as  '  panteth 
after'  does  in  the  authorized  version.  Putting  the  psalmist's 
fj  yj/vxri  iiov  in  a  glorious  New  Testament  setting,  by  substituting 
for  it  TO  TJvevfia  b  KarcoKLaeu  iv  rifxlv,  'the  (Divine)  Spirit  that 
He  gave  to  dwell  in  us,'  the  apostle  says  that  He  inmoQa,  irphs 
— what?  As  the  remembrance  of  the  grand  old  words  of  the 
psalmist,  irpos  ae,  6  Qfos,  Came  over  the  readers'  minds,  we 
can  imagine  the  absolute  self-loathing  produced  in  their  souls 
by  the  thought  that  in  the  place  of  ae,  6  Qeos,  they  were  in 
danger  of  putting  cf)66i^ov,  the  base  worldly  '  envying '  which 
is  directly  antagonistic  to  God ;  for,  as  the  apostle  had  told 
them  in  the  immediately  preceding  sentence,  '  Whosoever  is 
minded  to  be  a  friend  of  the  world,  maketh  himself  an  enemy 
of  God: 

6.  The  explanation  given  of  the  comparative  [nl^ova  is 
necessarily  dependent  mainly  on  the  view  taken  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  fifth  verse.  By  Gataker,  Winer,  Kern,  and  many 
others,  it  is  held  to  mean  'greater  than  the  world  can  give;' 
by  Bengel,  eo  majorejn,  quo  longius  recesseris  ab  invidia ;  by 
Stier,  '  increasingly  and  ever  greater,  in  proportion  as  we 
believe  the  word  and  follow  the  Spirit ;'  by  De  Wette,  Wie- 
singer,  Huther,  and  Alford,  'greater  than  if  He  had  not  for 
us  this  jealous  love.'  To  me  it  seems  that  the  8e  and  the  com- 
parative and  its  emphatic  position  are  all  best  explained  by 
supposing  (as  in  expounding  the  compositions  of  any  lively 
writer  in  any  language  we  often  have  to  do,— in  Paul's  Epis- 
tles, for  example,  very  frequently)  a  reference  to  an  inter- 
mediate unexpressed  but  obvious  thought:  'Your  consciences 
tell  you,  brethren,  that  this  "  envy,"  which  is  from  the  world, 
not  from  God's  Spirit,  has  much  power  over  you ;  and  you 


o 


6  The  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  iv.  7-1 


grow  almost  despondent  as  you  think  how  much  influence 
the  old  man  of  sin  still  has,  even  though  the  Spirit  dvvelleth 
in  you  :  but  be  of  good  cheer,  for  greater  is  the  grace  He 
giveth  than  the  power  either  of  your  own  depravity  or  of 
Satan.' 

7.  The  aorist  imperatives  in  this  exhortation  express  urgency, 
— '  do  these  things  at  once '  (Winer,  Gram.  §  43.  3,  a) ;  and 
the  force  is  intensified  by  the  absence  of  connecting  particles 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sentences. 

With  reference  to  the  not  uncommon  use  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment of  an  aorist  passive  with  seemingly  the  force  of  a  middle, 
— as  tiTTOTayjjTe  here,  and  TanfivadrjTe  in  ver.  10, — see  Winer, 
Gram.  §  39.  2. 

8.  It  is  perhaps  impossible  to  distinguish  very  exactly  be- 
tween the  senses  of  Kadapos  and  ayvos.  Speaking  generally, 
however,  the  former  suggests  purity  under  the  aspect  of  clean- 
ness, freedom  from  stain, — the  latter,  in  accordance  with  its 
etymological  connection  with  Syios  and  sacer,  the  purity  asso- 
ciated with  separation  and  consecration  to  the  service  of  God, 
and  particularly  chastity.  See  Trench's  remarks  on  the  words 
in  his  Synonyms  of  the  New   Testament.     The  rendering  of  our 

translators,    'cleanse and  purify,'  is   admirable, — 'purify,' 

like  ayi/t'o-are,  leaving  room  for  a  special  reference  to  the 
figure  of  adultery  before  employed,  but  not  necessarily  sug- 
gesting it. 

II.  Three  times  in  this  short  sentence  the  apostle  reminds 
the  believers  of  their  'brotherhood,'  that  they  may  see  the 
atrocity  of  evil-speaking  and  harsh  judgment.  The  rise  from 
aSeXc^oO  to  the  fuller  tov  ahik(\)ov  avTov  is  remarkable,  and 
shows  the  earnestness  of  his  anxiety  to  bring  this  point  clearly 
before  them. 

13.  In  this  and  the  next  two  verses  we  find  a  somewhat 
unusual  number  of  various  readings.  It  is  not  improbable 
that,  from  the  nature  of  the  paragraph,  it  was  often  quoted 
by  preachers  when  denouncing  vain  confidence,  and  that  the 
varieties  of  expression  which  naturally  arose  in  oral  citation 
ultimately  found  their  way  into  the  manuscripts. 


CH.  IV.  1 6.]     Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  37 

Kat  (which  has  better  support  than  ij)  between  arjuepou  and 
avpiou,  may  mean,  similarly  to  its  use  in  2  Cor.  xiii.  i,  '  to-day, 
and — in  the  case  of  some  other  of  you — to-morrow;'  but  it  is 
simpler,  and  exhibits  more  strikingly  the  foolish  confidence  of 
the  men,  to  take  the  words  as  stating  the  intended  duration  of 
the  journey. 

Huther  and  others  doubt  whether  the  sense  of  '  such  a  '  (that 
is,  as  we  say  colloquially,  "such  and  such  a'),  which  our 
authorized  version,  after  Tyndale  and  the  Geneva,  attaches  to 
TT]u8€,  can  be  justified  by  the  usage  of  the  word ;  and  certainly 
the  passage  from  Plutarch,  cited  by  Winer  (Gram.  §  23.  5) 
in  support  of  it,  is  at  the  least  doubtful.  But  it  does  not  seem 
very  natural  to  take  the  word  SetKTiKcos,  '  this  city  here,' — and 
hardly  possible,  if  crrjiiefjov  koI  avpiov  be  taken  as  intimating  that 
the  city  is  distant  two  days'  journey ;  whilst,  if  the  meaning  be 
'  this  (which  has  been  spoken  of  in  our  conversation),'  or  the 
like,  '  such  a '  is  not  an  unsuitable  translation. 

16.  Kavxaa-dai  is  regularly  followed  by  f'u,  to  express  the 
ground  of  the  'glorying,'  as  in  i.  9,  10.  If  such  be  the  force  of 
ei>  here,  then  the  meaning  is,  that  these  men  '  exult '  in  the  fact 
of  their  being  daring  enough  to  speak  so  loftily  and  indepen- 
dently regarding  their  future.  This,  however,  brings  in  a  some- 
what   remote    thought,    which,    from    the    iraaa    Kaixwi-^    Toiavrr) 

following,  appears  to  take  the  principal  place.  Now  the  whole 
context  indicates  that  it  is  not  merely  glorying  regarding  their 
arrogant  confidence  as  to  the  future  against  which  the  exhorta- 
tion of  the  apostle  is  directed,  but  this  arrogant  confidence 
itself,  and  the  utterances  which  spring  from  it.  It  appears 
probable,  therefore,  that  Kavxaadai  simply  designates  such  proud 
speeches  as  have  been  quoted  in  ver.  13,  such  speeches  them- 
selves being  in  truth  the  expression  of  exultation  in  fancied 
independence.  In  this  case  we  must  hold  eV  to  be  used  in 
the  same  way  as  in  the  third  verse  of  this  chapter  (on  which 
see  note),  to  exhibit  the  state  or  sphere.  So  Huther  and 
others. 

The  best  word  for  dXaCoveia  seems  to  be  '  vain-glory,'  sug- 
gested by  Dean  Alford.     In  i  John  ii.  16,  the  only  other  place 


38  The  Epistle  of  James.        [ch.  iv.  16. 

in  the  New  Testament  where  the  word  occurs,  it  is  rendered 
'pride;'  but  levity,  leading  to  ostentation,  has  a  prominence 
in  aka^ovda  which  is  not  brought  out  by  '  pride.'  The  plural, 
setting  forth  the  various  forms  and  degrees  of  the  sinful  feeling 
in  different  persons,  cannot  well  be  retained  in  an  English 
version  :  compare  ii.  i,  eV  Trpoo-coTroXTj^t'atr. 


CH.  V.  3.]        Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  39 


CHAPTER  V. 

Ver.  3.  'x^iiv,  connected  with  ets  naprCpiov  ea-rai,  is  by  many  in- 
terpreters taken  in  the  sense  of  'against  you,'  given  by  the 
authorized  version  (after  the  Geneva,  but  not  Tyndale,  who 
has  '  unto  you').  The  phrase  occurs  a  considerable  number 
of  times  in  the  New  Testament,  and  our  translators  render  it 
sometimes  with  '  against,'  and  sometimes  with  '  unto.'  It  may 
fairly  be  questioned  whether  '  unto  '  be  not  the  meaning  in  all 
the  places.  This  is  certainly  the  sense  which  occurs  first  to  a 
reader ;  and  the  fact  that  Luke,  who  more  than  once  has  the 
construction  with  the  dative,  employs  in  ix.  5  for  '  against '  the 

unambiguous    construction    with    eVi    (els    fxaprvpiov    en     airovs), 

suggests  it  as  at  least  likely  that  to  his  mind  the  dative  in  this 
connection  meant  simply  'unto.' 

The  plural  aapnas  is  used  rather  with  reference  to  the  various 
parts  of  the  body,  than  because  the  apostle  is  speaking  of  a 
plurality  of  persons.  In  2  Kings  ix.  36  the  LXX.  employ  ray 
a-apKas  of  Jezebel  alone. 

In  two  of  the  uncial  manuscripts  the  sentence  is  marked  as 
ending  with  a-apKas  vpav^ — as  TTvp  being  attached  to  the  follow- 
ing ;  and  this  connection  of  the  words  has  been  adopted  by 
several  commentators,  Grotius,  Wiesinger,  and  others,  who 
take    the   passage   as   being   nearly  parallel   to   Rom.    ii.    5, 

Grjcravpi^eLS    (TtavTa    opyfjv    eV     fjpepq    opyrji,    and     interpret    tllUS  : 

'  ianqua7n  ignem  opes  istas  congessistis.^  But  6t]cravpi^eLu  does 
not  require  an  expressed  object  (comp.  Luke  xii.  21,  i  Cor. 
xvi.  2,  2  Cor.  xii.  14);  and  when  the  force  of  ev  ecrxdrais 
Tjpfpais  is  understood,  on  which  the  stress  of  the  sentence  with 
iBrja-avplaare  rests,  it  will  be  felt  that  to  join  on  «?  zriip  would 
crowd  and  weaken  that  sentence. 

*  For  the  last  days,'  the  rendering  given  of  iv  (axdrais  rjpepais 


40  The  Epistle  of  James.  [ch.  v.  4. 

by  the  authorized  version  (after  the  Geneva,  but  not  Tyndale, 
who  has  '  in  your  last  days '),  is  supported  by  Beza  and  others, 
but  is  beyond  doubt  grammatically  indefensible.  The  use  of 
eV  T^/xf'pa  opy^s  in  Rom.  ii.  5  (quoted  a  few  lines  above) 
may  seem  to  justify  this  interpretation,  but  these  words  do 
not  belong  in  construction  to  the  verb,  but  to  opyiji/ — '  wrath 
(which  shall  be  manifested)  in  the  day  of  wrath.'  The  ex- 
pression iv  ea-xarais  rififpais  occurs  in  2  Tim.  iii.  I,  and,  with 
the  article,  in  Acts  ii.  17.  As  to  the  omission  of  the  article, 
see  Winer,  Gram.  §  19.  i,  remarks  on  Kaipos.  In  the  present 
passage  the  force  of  the  argument  might  be  sufficiently  brought 
out  without  taking  the  rjixepais  as  definite, — thus,  '  in  last  days, 
in  a  closing  or  final  time,'  in  an  age  when  everything  most 
loudly  called  for  unworldliness  and  purity  of  life. 

4.  The  authorized  version  has  '  reaped '  twice,  but  the  ori- 
ginal has  distinct  words,  which,  whatever  the  apostle's  reason 
for  varying,  it  seems  desirable  to  render  by  distinct  words 
in  English.  Compare  i.  15.  The  same  objection  lies  against 
'  crieth — cries,'  as  the  representatives  of  Kpd(ft. — /3oai ;  but  it  is 
perhaps  impossible  to  find  an  English  word  that  would  corre- 
spond to  either  of  the  Greek  words  so  well  as  '  cry,' 

The  sense  in  which  James  here  employs  dnoaTepelv,  '  to  keep 
back  fraudulently,  withhold  what  is  due,'  is  quite  classical,  and 
is  found  also  in  the  LXX.  See  Mai.  iii.  5,  a  passage  so 
strikingly  parallel  to  the  present  in  thought  and  expression, 
that  it  almost  seems  as  if  James  intended  a  reference  to  it. 

Huther  (followed  by  Alford)  takes  d<f)'  vfiav  with  Kpa^ei,  '  crieth 
from  you,'  that  is,  from  your  cofters,  where  it  ought  not  to  be ; 
and  refers  to  Gen.  iv.  10  and  Ex.  ii.  23.  The  use  of  the 
personal  pronoun,  however,  when  not  the  men  themselves  but 
only  their  purses  or  coffers  are  meant,  is  harsh,  and  altogether 
unsupported  by  the  passages  mentioned,  where  in  the  one 
place  the  LXX.  have  eV  r^s  7^9,  and  in  the  other  cmo  rajy 
epyu>v.  It  seems  better,  therefore,  to  adhere  to  the  old  con- 
struction, connecting  a0'  Ip-av  with  dTTea-Tfprjpevos ;  and  if  we 
suppose  the  fact  to  have  been  present  to  the  apostle's  mind, 
that   the  great  landowners  of  whom  he  is  speaking  in  most 


CH.  V.  5-7.]     Notes  on  the  Greek  Text.  41 

cases  negotiated  with  their  labourers  not  immediately,  but 
through  stewards,  the  use  of  aixh  instead  of  vivh  need  cause  no 
difficulty.  The  fraud  was  '  from '  the  rich  men,  being  in  accord- 
ance with  their  spirit  and  general  instructions,  but  it  was  com- 
mitted immediately  'by'  their  subordinates.  Regarding  this 
use  of  OTTO,  see  note  on  i.  13. 

5.  Tpv(f)av  (which  occurs  only  here  in  the  New  Testament) 
and  aTraraXav  (found  also  in  1  Tim.  v.  6)  are  very  nearly  syno- 
nymous ;  but  in  the  former  luxurious  living  seems  to  be  the 
more  prominent  idea,  in  the  latter,  the  lavish  expenditure  in- 
volved in  luxurious  living.  The  rich  man  '■faring  sumptuously 
every  day'  is  brought  before  us  by  the  one,  the  prodigal 
'■wasting  his  substajice  vf'iih  riotous  living'  by  the  other.  See 
Trench,  Synony^ns  of  the  Neiv  Testament,  s.  vv. 

Kapbia  designates  the  seat  of  feeling  of  every  kind,  whether 
of  the  loftiest  spiritual  affections,  as  below  in  ver.  8,  or  of  the 
mere  animal  satisfaction  derived  from  the  gratification  of  bodily 
appetites.  The  reference  here  is  plainly  to  every  mode  of 
ministering  to  '  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and 
the  pride  of  Ufe.'  Compare  the  use  of  Kap8ia  in  Luke  xxi.  34, 
and  in  Acts  xiv.  17. 

7.  As  to  the  force  of  the  aorist  imperative,  see  note  on  iv,  7. 
In  the  case  of  a  word  like  paKpodvpelv,  which  designates  what 
ought  to  be  a  constant  state  of  Christian  feeling  here  below, 
this  imperative  points  most  prominently  to  the  first  step,  one 
decided  effort  of  energetic  faith  to  raise  patience  to  the  posi- 
tion of  influence  in  the  heart  that  it  should  occupy.  In  the 
a-TTjpl^are  of  ver.  8  this  force  of  the  aorist  imperative  is  plainer, 
from  the  meaning  of  the  verb.  In  enjoining  duties  which  from 
their  nature  call  for  occasional  efforts  of  faith,  rather  than  one 
decisive  act,  and  the  maintenance  of  a  state  thereafter,  the 
apostle  uses  the  present  imperative.  See  instances  in  verses 
9,  12,-  13,  1 6.  A  comparison  of  the  present  imperatives  in 
ver.  13  with  the  aorists  in  ver.  14  illustrates  the  point  par- 
ticularly well.  These  all  belong  to  one  series ;  but  the  prayer 
and  praise  may  and  should  be  off'ered  often  during  the  re- 
spective states  of  mind  spoken  of,  whilst  the  summoning  of  the 


42  The  Epistle  of  Jmnes.     [ch.  v.  9,  11. 

elders  is  a  single  act,  which  it  is  supposed  will  not  need  to 
be  repeated. 

9,  '  Grudge '  was  used  in  early  English  quite  in  the  sense  of 
'  murmur.'  Latimer,  for  example,  speaks  of  '  grudging  against 
God,'  and  Chaucer  of  Judas  '  grudging '  against  Mary,  when 
she  anointed  the  Saviour  with  the  precious  ointment.  In  the 
age  of  the  publication  of  our  authorized  version,  however,  the 
word  was  coming  to  be  used  in  the  sense  of  a  secret  resent- 
ment, and  hence  our  translators  have  in  some  places  (such  as 
Mark  xiv.  5  and  Acts  vi.  i)  substituted  '  murmur '  for  '  grudge  ' 
of  Tyndale  and  the  Geneva  version;  but  in  the  verse  before 
us  and  i  Pet.  iv.  9  they  have  retained  the  old  word. 

II.  The  received  reading  el'Sere  and  the  imperative  i'Sere  have 
both  good  manuscript  authority ;  but  the  latter  (approved  by 
Tischendorf)  is  somewhat  the  more  difficult  of  the  two,  and 
therefore  probably  the  original.  Huther,  adopting  it,  puts  a 
colon  after  Kupt'ov,  thus  placing  reXoj  under  the  government 
of  rjKovaare,  and  then  continues,  "iSere  oTi — '  See  (from  this) 
that,  etc'  But,  had  this  been  the  intended  construction,  the 
imperative  would  certainly  have  had  an  oZv^  or  some  similar 
connective,  to  indicate  its  close  logical  dependence  on  the 
preceding  statement.  The  construction  must  be,  as  marked 
by  Tischendorf,  Ka\  t6  reXos  Kvpiuv  'idere,  the  object  words 
standing  before  the  verb,  because  through  the  antithesis  the 
emphasis  is  on  them. 

The  authorized  version,  rendering  on  by  '  that '  here,  makes 
the  clause  a  second  object  to  t'Sere  or  e'ldtre,  stating  fully  the 
truth  regarding  the  divine  character  which  was  illustrated  in 
'  the  end  given  by  the  Lord '  to  Job's  history.  But  it  seems 
simpler  to  take  it  as  giving  a  reason  for  the  injunction  koI  t6 
Te\os  Kvpiov  i'Sere, — '  Because  a  most  precious  truth  regarding 
the  Lord  is  seen  there,  which  is  fitted  to  bring  you  much  com- 
fort in  your  trials.'  Even  with  the  reading  el'Serf,  which  this 
sense  of  Sn  does  not  seem  to  suit  so  well  as  it  does  the  im- 
perative, it  has  nevertheless  been  preferred  by  most  commen- 
tators, and  is  found  in  all  the  English  versions  before  the 
authorized.     Alford  remarks  well  that  the  repetition  of  '  the 


CH.v,  13-16.]  Notes  071  the  Greek  Text.  43 

Lord '  appears  much  more  natural  on  this  view  of  the  meaning 
of  on  than  on  the  other. 

13.  By  some  grammarians  KaKorrafJel  ns  eV  vulv,  and  the  other 
similar  sentences  in  this  series,  are  regarded  as  not  interroga- 
tive, but  direct  statements  of  the  supposed  case  as  if  real ; 
thus,  'Some  one  among  you  is  afflicted  (let  us  suppose).'  A 
series  very  like  the  present  occurs  in  i  Cor.  vii.  18,  and  fol- 
lowing verses ;  and  the  grammatical  structure  there  is  explained 
in  the  same  way.  See  Winer,  Gram.  §  41.  3.  This  view  of 
the  construction  seems  logically  correct,  but,  in  English  at 
least,  the  thought  appears  to  be  more  simply  brought  out  by 
the  interrogative  form  than  in  any  other  way,  whether  inserting 
a  '  let  us  suppose,'  or,  as  Wycliffe  and  Tyndale  do,  supplying 
'if  at  the  beginning.  Indeed  there  appears  to  be  a  certain 
feeling  of  the  naturalness  of  the  interrogative  form  which  leads 
holders  of  the  view  of  Winer  into  occasional  inconsistency. 
Thus,  as  Huther  mentions,  Alexander  Buttmann  in  one  place, 
criticising  Lachmann,  who  has  put  marks  of  interrogation, 
speaks  of  these  as  unnecessary,  but  in  his  own  edition  of  the 
New  Testament  has  done  the  same.  Dean  Alford,  too,  in  the 
passage  in  i  Corinthians  uses  commas,  in  James  marks  of 
interrogation ;  whilst  in  each  place  referring  in  his  margin  to 
the  other  as  having  a  precisely  similar  construction. 

15.  Huther,  followed  by  Alford,  takes  Kav  here  in  the  sense 
of  '  even  if,'  asserting  that  nowhere  in  the  New  Testament  does 
it  mean  '  and  if.'  In  Luke  xiii.  9,  however,  it  has  clearly  this 
meaning ;  and  the  sense  in  the  verse  before  us  appears  to  run 
decidedly  more  smoothly  if  we  take  it  so  here  also,  as  most 
interpreters  have  done. 

16.  'Evepyovfievi]  has  been  very  variously  understood.  Only 
three  of  the  views,  however,  as  it  seems  to  me,  are  grammati- 
cally defensible.  By  Hammond,  Michaelis,  and  others,  it  is 
regarded  as  a  passive,  meaning  '  inwrought  (by  the  Holy 
Spirit) ;'  by  most  interpreters  as  a  middle,  but  taken  in  dif- 
ferent senses,  Huther  and  Alford,  holding  it  to  be  a  middle, 
adhere  to  the  strict  participial  meaning  '  working,'  that  is,  '  in 
its  working '  or  '  by  its  working.'     The  great  majority  of  inter- 


44  The  Epistle  of  James.         [ch.  v.  i  7. 

preters,  agreeing  with  these  last  in  regard  to  the  voice,  hold 
the  participle  to  be  used  as  very  nearly  equivalent  to  the 
adjective  evepyris,  'operative,  full  of  energy'  (i  Cor.  xvi.  g ; 
Philem.  6;  Heb.  iv.  12:  comp.  especially  this  last  reference). 
Michaelis's  view  of  the  meaning  brings  out  a  most  impor- 
tant truth,  and  one  perfectly  relevant  to  the  point  in  hand  ; 
and  the  fact  that  the  passive  of  ivfpyelv  does  not  occur  else- 
where in  the  New  Testament  (the  two  passages  in  which  by 
some  commentators  forms  of  the  verb  have  been  understood 
passively,  2  Cor.  i.  6,  iv.  12,  being  more  naturally  explained 
on  the  supposition  that  the  forms  are  middle),  would  not  of 
itself  weigh  much  against  it.  But  the  apostle,  if  it  had  been 
his  intention  to  bring  in  this  new  and  weighty  thought,  would 
certainly  not  have  left  it  to  be  doubtfully  suggested  by  the 
use  of  one  ambiguous  word,  but  would  have  filled  up  the 
expression.  Huther's  view,  according  to  which  ivepyovp.evq  is 
nearly  equivalent  to  bia  tov  ivepyda-Bai,  lies  under  the  objection 
of  making  the  word  utterly  weak,  adding  really  nothing  to  the 
thought  of  the  sentence ;  for  in  what  way  conceivable  could 
any  prayer  '  avail '  except  '  by  its  working'?  To  use  the  word 
thus  is  altogether  unlike  the  vigorous  trenchant  style  of  James. 
The  ordinary  interpretation  lies  under  no  serious  objection. 
The  tendency  of  participles  in  all  languages  to  pass  in  sense 
very  much  into  adjectives  sufficiently  explains  the  form,  and 
the  meaning  is  in  every  way  satisfactory.  '  Energetic  '  would 
perhaps  be  the  best  English  rendering,  but  the  word  in  this 
connection  might  sound  somewhat  oddly ;  and,  seeing  that  in 
fact  fervour  is  the  '  energy '  of  prayer,  it  appears  best  to  retain 
the  old  familiar  '  fervent.'  The  very  curious  double  rendering 
of  our  translators,  '  effectual  fervent,'  is  probably  due  to  a  com- 
promise between  conflicting  opinions  in  the  committee  of 
translators ;  and  it  is  wholly  their  own,  for  the  earlier  versions 
have  '  fervent '  simply,  with  the  exception  of  Wyclifife's  and  the 
Rhemish,  which  have  '  continual,'  from  the  Vulgate  '  assidua.^ 

17.  The  well-known  Hebrew  construction  of  the  infinitive 
absolute  with  a  definite  form  of  the  same  verb,  to  express 
strength  or  intensity,  is  often  in  the  Septuagint  rendered  by 


cii.  V.  19.]       Notes  oil  the  Gi^eek  Text.  45 

the  junction  to  a  verb  of  the  dative  of  a  cognate  substantive. 

Thus    in  Gen.    ii.  17,  Qavara  dnodaufia-de  ;    Deut.  XX.   17,  dvadefxart 

dvadefiuTif'tTe.  James's  irpoaevxii  irpov-qv^aro  is  obviously  a  Con- 
struction of  the  same  kind ;  and  it  is  plain  that  here  the  most 
fitting  representative  of  the  class  of  adverbs  ('surely,'  'utterly,' 
and  the  like)  by  which  the  thought  is  brought  out  in  English, 
is  '  earnestly.'  De  Wette,  followed  by  Huther  and  Alford, 
objects  to  the  introduction  of  such  a  word  as  '  earnestly,'  on 
the  ground  that  the  cognate  dative  is  intended  simply  to 
bring  out  into  prominence  the  idea  of  the  verb ;  but  it  is  not 
easy  to  see  how  in  modern  languages  this  prominence  could 
well  be  expressed  otherwise  than  by  an  adverb.  Alford  trans- 
lates '  prayed  with  prayer,'  explaining  this  to  mean  '  made  it  a 
special  matter  of  prayer.'  Now,  '  prayed  specially,'  which  is 
the  force  of  the  explanation,  appears  to  lie  under  the  same 
objection  which  is  made  to  'prayed  earnestly,' whilst  there  is 
no  evidence  that  it  exhibits  the  apostle's  meaning  better,  and 
some  probability  (at  least  if  the  meaning  commonly  assigned 
to  ivepyovpiv-q  in  the  previous  verse  be  retained)  that  it  does  not 
exhibit  it  so  well. 

19.  The  aorist  subjunctives  here,  and  the  aorist  participle 
fnia-Tpeyj/as  in  the  next  verse,  simply  show  the  priority  of  the 
acts  expressed  by  these  verbs  to  those  expressed  by  the  futures 
crwo-et  and  KoKvylfei.     Compare  note  on  ii.  2. 


LECTURES 


EPISTLE     OF    JAMES. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  Epistle  of  James  has  from  very  early  times  been 
grouped  with  the  two  of  Peter,  the  three  of  John,  and 
that  of  Jude,  under  the  name  of  '  Catholic,  or  General, 
Epistles.'  This  designation  has  been  variously  understood  ; 
but  the  ordinary  view  of  the  meaning,  that  these  letters  are 
thus  named  because  they  are  addressed  not  to  particular  per- 
sons or  churches,  but  to  Christians  in  general,  or  at  least  to 
classes  of  readers  spread  over  a  wide  area,  is  the  most  natural 
and  satisfactory.  The  second  and  third  Epistles  of  John, 
indeed,  are  addressed  to  individuals ;  but  it  is  easy  to  under- 
stand how  these  short  letters  were  classed  along  with  the  first  of 
the  same  writer,  which  is  so  much  longer  and  more  important. 
The  writer  of  the  letter  announces  his  name  at  the  outset  as 
'  James.'  The  fact  that  to  the  name  he  appends  only  the  very 
general  description,  '  a  servant  of  God  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,'  shows  him  to  have  been  one  whose  prominence  in  the 
church  was  such  that  his  name  alone  at  the  head  of  a  docu- 
ment of  this  kind  would,  at  least  for  the  Jewish  Christians  to 
whom  he  writes,  suffice  to  distinguish  him  from  all  others ;  and 
the  contents  of  the  letter  prove  him  to  have  had  so  intimate  an 
acquaintance  with  the  condition  of  the  congregations  of  Jewish 
Christians,  and  presuppose  such  admitted  authority  to  give  them 


48  LediLres  on  the  Epistle  of  yames. 

advices  and  injunctions,  that  we  can  scarcely  but  consider 
him  to  have  been  in  all  likelihood  one  who  stood  in  close 
official  relations  to  them.  He  was  either  an  apostle,  then,  or 
at  least  a  man  almost  of  apostolic  note  and  influence,  and 
was  specially  connected  with  the  churches  of  the  circumcision. 
Now,  as  we  are  told  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Acts,  the  Apostle 
James,  the  son  of  Zebedee  and  brother  of  John,  suffered 
martyrdom  in  the  year  43  or  44  of  our  era,  which  is  earlier 
than  the  probable  date  of  the  Epistle.  But  we  find  a  James 
spoken  of  in  Acts  and  in  Paul's  writings  as  for  many  years  the 
most  prominent  minister  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  and  a  man 
of  great  weight  among  the  Christians  generally,  particularly  the 
Jewish  Christians  (Acts  xii.  17,  xv.  13  foil.,  xxi.  18;  Gal.  ii.  9, 
12).  Everything  accordingly  points  to  him  as  the  author  of 
the  Epistle,  and  the  all  but  universal  opinion  in  the  church 
has  been  that  it  was  written  by  him. 

Whether  this  James  was  one  of  the  apostles  has  been 
much  debated.  In  the  lists  of  the  Twelve  there  certainly 
occurs  the  name  of  another  James  besides  the  son  of  Zebedee, 
described  always  as  'James  the  son  of  Alphaeus.'  But  James, 
the  influential  minister  at  Jerusalem  and  the  probable  writer 
of  the  Epistle,  is  spoken  of  in  Gal.  i.  19  (for  to  him  beyond  all 
reasonable  doubt,  when  we  compare  that  verse  with  the  ninth 
and  twelfth  verses  of  the  next  chapter,  the  reference  is)  as  '  the 
Lord's  brother,'  and  is  thus  identified  with  the  James  who  in 
the  Gospels  (Matt.  xiii.  55  ;  Mark  vi.  3)  is  named  among  the 
'  brethren '  of  Jesus.  Now  is  this  description  compatible  with 
the  other,  "^' the  son  of  Alphaeus,'  so  that  both  maybe,  held  to 
refer  to  the  same  man?  An  opinion  very  prevalent  in  the 
church  has  been  that  the  term  '  brother '  is  used  in  this  case 
loosely  for  '  a  near  relative,'  and  that  those  described  as 
'  brethren '  and  '  sisters '  of  the  Lord  v.'ere  the  children  of 
Alphseus,  and,  through  father  or  mother  or  both,  cousi?is  of 
the  Saviour.  Of  late  years,  however,  the  whole  subject  has 
been  very  carefully  investigated  afresh,  and  the  more  that  it  has 
been  studied,  the  more  doubt  has  grown  regarding  the  sound- 
ness of  this  view;  and  the  most  probable  conclusion  from  all 


Introduction.  49 

the  data  seems  to  be  that  the  '  brethren  '  and  '  sisters  '  of  the 
Lord  were  either  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  or  of  Joseph 
by  a  former  wife.'  In  this  case  James,  '  the  brother  of  the 
Lord,'  and  the  author  of  the  Epistle,  must  be  distinguished 
from  James  the  son  of  Alphaeus,  and  was  not  one  of  the  twelve 
aposdes.  Paul's  words  in  Gal.  i.  t8,  19,  'I  went  up  to  Jeru- 
salem to  see  Peter,  and  abode  with  him  fifteen  days  ;  but  other 
of  the  apostles  saw  I  none,  save  James  the  Lord's  brother,' 
seem  to  include  this  James  among  the  apostles;"  and  other 
passages  (i  Cor.  ix.  5,  xv.  7)  appear  to  imply  the  same.  But 
this  does  not  at  all  render  it  necessary  to  suppose  that  he  was 
of  the  original  Twelve.  There  is  reason  to  think  that,  besides 
Paul,  who  by  express  appointment  of  the  divine  Head  of  the 
church  was  added  to  the  Twelve,  some  others  of  the  foremost 
ministers  were,  either  by  similar  though  unrecorded  definite 
appointment,  recognised  as  apostles,  or  at  least,  according  to 
a  somewhat  loose  use  of  the  name,  popularly  called  apostles. 
Such  was  the  case  with  Barnabas  certainly  (see  Acts  xiv.  4, 
14).  The  position  of  James  may  have  been,  and  probably  was, 
similar.  But  on  any  view,  whether  he  was  one  with  '  the  son 
of  Alphaeus,'  and  therefore  of  the  Twelve,  or  an  added  apostle, 
or  simply  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  the  primitive  church, 
next  to  the  apostles,  it  is  plain  from  every  reference  made  to 
him  that  he  was  deemed  by  all  a  man  of  the  very  highest 

^  For  a  full  discussion  of  the  question,  see  the  supplementary  note  at  the 
close  of  this  Introduction. 

2  Not  so  decidedly,  however,  as  might  at  first  sight  appear ;  for  not  un- 
frequently,  both  in  the  New  Testament  and  in  classical  Greek,  i\  (nM  loses 
almost  entirely  its  exceptive  force  for  that  of  a  simple  adversative  particle, 
'approaching  nearly  to  Lxxk  '  (Lightfoot  on  Gal.  i.  7).  See  Matt.  xii.  4; 
Luke  iv.  26,  27 ;  Rev.  xxi.  27.  An  examination  of  these  passages  will 
show  clearly  that  Bishop  Ellicott  hardly  exhibits  his  usual  admirable  gram- 
matical exactness,  when  {^Historical  Lectures  on  the  Life  of  our  Lord,  p.  9^) 
he  speaks  of  the  strictly  exceptive  meaning  as  '  the  only  sound  grammatical 
interpretation  which  the  words  of  Gal.  i.  19  can  fairly  bear.'  The  'infot  in 
the  first  clause  of  the  verse  certainly  favours  the  exceptive  sense,  but  surely 
scarcely  obliges  us  to  take  it,  as  Dr.  Lightfoot  in  his  note  appears  to  think  ; 
for  the  contrast  in  it  may  be  solely  with  Peter  (ver.  18),  and  not  with  James 
at  all. 

D 


50  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James. 

Christian  wisdom,  richly  endued  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
that  an  official  writing  from  him  to  the  churches  would  be  re- 
ceived as  having  plenary  inspiration  and  apostolic  authority. 

Of  the  life  of  this  apostle  we  know  but  Uttle.  John  mentions 
in  his  Gospel  (vii.  5)  that  the  'brethren  of  the  Lord'  did  not 
believe  on  Him, — the  statement  referring  to  a  period  less  than 
a  year  before  the  crucifixion.  No  exceptions  are  stated  or 
suggested,  and  therefore  it  is  probable  that  James  is  included. 
After  the  resurrection  a  special  appearance  of  the  Lord  was 
granted  to  him  (i  Cor.  xv.  7),  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  from 
that  we  are  to  date  his  clear  apprehension  of  the  Messiahship 
and  divinity  of  the  Brother  whom  for  many  years  he  had  lived 
with  and  seen  so  closely,  and  yet  known  so  little.  Regarding 
the  time  between  the  ascension  and  Pentecost,  it  is  mentioned 
that  the  eleven  apostles  '  continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer 
and  supplication,  with  the  women,  and  Mary  the  mother  of 
Jesus,  and  with  His  brethren''  (Acts  i.  14).  The  next  mention 
of  him  is  in  connection  with  Paul's  first  visit  to  Jerusalem  after 
his  conversion  (Gal.  i.  18,  19),  about  ten  years  after  the  ascen- 
sion of  the  Lord.  The  way  in  which  he  is  spoken  of  here 
implies  that  by  this  time  he  was  in  high  repute  among  the 
Christians  at  Jerusalem ;  and  all  references  to  him  afterwards 
clearly  indicate  that,  of  all  the  permanent  pastors  in  the  Holy 
City,  he  was  beyond  question  the  most  prominent  and  influ- 
ential. Peter,  after  his  deliverance  from  Herod's-  prison,  said 
to  the  friends  assembled  in  the  house  of  Mary  the  mother  of 
John  Mark,  '  Go,  show  these  things  unto  James,  and  to  the 
brethren'  (Acts  xii.  17).  At  the  council  of  the  apostles  and 
elders  at  Jerusalem,  to  consider  the  relation  of  Gentile  con- 
verts to  the  Jewish  law,  it  was  James  who  proposed  the  resolu- 
tion that  was  accepted  by  all, — a  resolution  well  fitted  to  bring 
peace  to  the  troubled  churches  (Acts  xv.  13  foil.).  And  speak- 
ing of  his  visit  to  Jerusalem  at  that  time,  Paul  says  :  '  When 
James,  Cephas,  and  John,  who  seemed  to  be  pillars,  perceived 
the  grace  that  was  given  unto  me,  they  gave  to  me  and  Barna- 
bas the  right  hands  of  fellowship,  that  we  should  go  unto  the 
heathen,  and  they  unto  the  circumcision'  (Gal.  ii.  9),     The 


Introduction.  5 1 

last  mention  that  we  have  of  him  in  Scripture  is  in  connection 
with  that  visit  of  Paul  to  Jerusalem  which  brought  about  his 
imprisonment.  James  presided  at  the  reception  by  the  brethren 
of  Paul's  heart-gladdening  report  of  the  progress  of  the  gospel 
among  the  Gentiles  (Acts  xxi.  18,  19).  A  tradition  preserved 
by  the  ecclesiastical  historian  Hegesippus,  a  Jewish  Christian 
of  Palestine,  who  wrote  probably  not  more  than  a  century  after 
the  death  of  James,  tells  us  that,  from  his  eminent  purity  of 
character,  and  the  rigour  of  his  adherence  to  the  Jewish  cere- 
monial system,  he  was  generally  known  as  James  the  Just,  or 
Righteous,  and  this  among  the  Jews  who  did  not  believe  in 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  as  well  as  among  the  Christians. 
These  are  probably  facts,  though  round  them  in  the  statements 
of  Hegesippus  we  find  a  considerable  accretion  of  manifest 
untruth,  from  the  fertile  fancies  of  the  descendants  of  those 
who  had  known  and  loved  the  great  pastor  of  the  church  of 
Jerusalem.  Of  the  death  of  the  apostle  we  have  accounts  both 
by  Josephus  and  Hegesippus  ;  but  they  do  not  agree  with  each 
other,  except  to  the  effect  that  he  met  with  a  violent  death 
through  the  hatred  of  some  influential  Jews  who  were  virulently 
opposed  to  Christianity.  This  statement,  put  thus  generally, 
can  scarcely  be  doubted ;  and  the  martyrdom  falls  probably 
within  the  last  seven  or  eight  years  before  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  that  is,  from  four  to  twelve  years  after  James's  last 
appearance  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

It  is  clear,  then,  from  everything  we  know  regarding  the 
character,  and  views,  and  official  position  of  James,  that  from 
none  of  the  apostles  could  an  epistle  addressed  especially  to 
the  Jewish  Christians  be  more  naturally  looked  for,  and  that  a 
letter  to  them  from  him  would  carry  with  it  the  very  greatest 
weight.  And  when  we  examine  the  Epistle,  we  find  it  in  all 
respects  what  we  should  anticipate  from  such  a  man.  His 
chief  aim  is  plainly  to  impress  his  readers  with  a  conviction 
that  true  Christianity  is  always  a  great  moral  power,  and  will 
therefore  reveal  itself  through  growth  in  the  strong  virtues  and 
tender  graces  of  holiness.  To  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the 
great  exposition  of  the  law  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  there  is 


5  2  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes, 

a  constant  undertone  of  reference ;  and,  indeed,  the  whole  letter 
might  almost  be  regarded  as  a  commentary  on  that  Sermon. 
Conversion,  faith,  justification,  regeneration,  the  divinity  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  the  blessed  hope  of  His  second  coming, 
are  expressly  alluded  to  in  the  letter ;  but,  on  the  whole,  the 
specialties  of  Christian  doctrine  are  little  touched  upon — less 
than  in  any  other  book  of  the  New  Testament.  The  reason- 
ings of  the  apostle  evidently  presuppose  in  his  readers  a 
knowledge  of  Christian  truth;  and  his  great  aim  is  to  con- 
vince them  that  this  knowledge  will  not  really  benefit  them, 
unless  godliness  of  hfe  show  that  it  has  been  received  with 
welcome  by  the  heart,  '  out  of  which  are  the  issues  of  life.' 
The  aspect  in  which  James  loved  to  contemplate  Christianity 
was  obviously  that  of  the  glorious  flower  into  which  the  bud  of 
the  religion  of  the  old  economy  had  opened  ;  and  hence  it  was 
natural  for  him  to  call  the  gospel  system,  looked  at  in  its  moral 
relations,  'the  law,'  'the  perfect  law  of  liberty.'  '  His,' says 
Neander,  'was  pre-eminently  the  standing-point  of  Jewish 
piety,  as  it  manifests  itself  in  the  forms  of  the  Old  Testament ; 
and  under  this  he  had  been  entirely  formed,  when  faith  in 
Jesus  as  the  promised  Messiah  was  superadded  :  and  hence- 
forth he  beheld  Judaism,  in  which  he  had  hitherto  lived,  trans- 
figured. Christianity  appears  to  his  mind  as  true  Judaism. 
The  Spirit  of  Christ  glorifies  the  forms  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  leads  them  to  their  true  fulfilment.  Something  would  be 
wanting,  had  we  not  James  in  the  New  Testament.  His 
standing-point  was  of  peculiar  service  in  bringing  over  devout 
Jews  to  the  faith  of  the  gospel.  To  a  Paul,  who  was  elected 
for  the  conversion  of  the  Gentile  nations,  it  would  have  proved 
a  hindrance ;  to  James,  in  the  sphere  of  action  assigned  to  him 
among  unmixed  Jews,  in  Palestine  and  Jerusalem  especially,  it 
was  serviceable.'^ 

In  form  this  Epistle  is  simple  and  natural.  Being  called 
forth  evidently  by  reports  which  had  reached  the  apostle  re- 

'  A  very  full  and  satisfactory  discussion  of  James's  doctrinal  teaching  will 
be  found  in  Schmid's  Biblical  Theology  of  the  New  Testament,  pp.  338-374 
(Clark's  Foreign  Theological  Library). 


Introduction.  53 

garding  serious  faults  that  had  shown  themselves  in  many  of 
the  Jewish  Christian  churches,  particularly  bigotry,  bringing 
with  it  angry  dissensions  and  vituperations,  and  worldliness,  he 
passes  on  by  natural  transitions  from  one  point  to  another, 
exhibiting  duty  and  reproving  sin.  The  style  is  lively  and 
earnest,  and  an  abundance  of  apt  similitudes  proves  that  the 
writer  had  in  no  small  degree  the  eye  and  imagination  of  a 
poet.  In  several  places,  especially  paragraphs  in  the  last  two 
chapters,  both  the  sentiments  and  the  diction  forcibly  remind  a 
reader  of  utterances  of  the  old  Hebrew  prophets.-^ 

Considering  James's  official  relations  to  the  church  at  Jeru- 
salem, it  is  in  every  way  probable  that  the  Epistle  was  written 
in  that  city,  and  we  may  suppose  it  to  have  been  sent  in  the 
first  instance  to  the  Jewish  Christian  communities  in  the  neigh- 
bouring regions  of  Syria ;  unless  we  take  the  term  '  the  Disper- 
sion,' employed  in  the  first  verse  (see  Exposition  of  that  verse), 
to  be  used  in  a  very  wide  sense,  as  including  all  the  Jews  not 
resident  in  Jerusalem,  in  which  case  the  letter  may  have  been 
sent  first  to  some  congregation  in  Judsa  or  Galilee. 

The  date  cannot  be  determined  so  easily  or  decidedly.  It 
seems,  on  the  whole,  most  probable  that  the  letter  was  written 
before  Paul's  Epistles,  and  indeed  before  the  council  held  at 
Jerusalem  on  the  relations  of  Gentile  Christians  to  the  Jewish 
law  (a.d.  50),  Had  it  been  written  after  Paul's  magnificent 
arguments  on  justification  by  faith  were  in  circulation,  it  seems 
likely  that,  in  the  observations  made  in  the  second  chapter  on 
justification,  we  should  have  found  some  statement  showing 
clearly  to  the  readers  that  James  was  not  opposing  Paul,  but 

'  The  Greek  of  James  approaches  nearer  to  classical  purity  than  perhaps 
that  of  any  other  New  Testament  writer.  Considering  how  decided  a 
Hebrew  he  was  in  feeling,  this  is  certainly  remarkable.  He  must  have 
been  one  of  those  men  whose  aptitude  for  apprehending  the  delicacies  of 
language  is  such  that,  if  they  speak  a  foreign  tongue  at  all,  they  cannot  but 
speak  it  with  elegance.  If  the  view  be  sound,  which  has  been  maintained 
with  much  learning  and  ability  by  Dr.  Roberts  in  his  Discussions  on  the 
Gospels,  that  in  the  New  Testament  age  all  teaching  and  preaching  in 
Palestine  were  carried  on  in  Greek,  not  Aramaic,  James  and  his  brother 
apostles  must  have  had  constant  practice  in  the  use  of  Greek. 


54  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James. 

a  misapprehension  and  abuse  of  the  doctrine  which  Paul  held 
in  common  with  his  brethren,  and  of  which  he  had  been 
honoured  to  be  the  great  expounder;^  and  had  it  been  written 
later  than  the  meeting  of  the  council,  at  a  time  when  alm.ost 
every  Jewish  congregation  must  have  included  some  Gentiles, 
the  apostle  could  hardly  have  avoided  touching  on  the  delicate 
questions  connected  with  the  intercourse  of  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
The  '  devout  men  out  of  every  nation  under  heaven,'  who  at 
the  ever-memorable  Pentecost  received  the  knowledge  of  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus,  must  have  carried  this  blessed  knowledge 
home  with  them  to  all  parts  of  the  civilised  world,  and  given 
it  to  many  of  their  brethren ;  and  thus  we  cannot  doubt  that, 
within  a  very  few  years  of  the  ascension  of  the  Lord,  there 
were  many  Jewish  Christian  communities  in  '  the  Dispersion.' 
And  those  moral  defects  upon  which  the  Epistle  dwells  are 
precisely  such  as  might  arise  in  churches  of  this  class  in  an 
extremely  short  time,  being  indeed  such  as  were  very  common 
in  the  Jewish  synagogues,  and  thus  most  likely  to  show  them- 
selves in  Christians  who  had  been  brought  up  in  Judaism.  An 
argument  against  the  supposition  of  an  early  date  for  the 
Epistle  has  been  based  on  some  imagined  references  in  it  to 
I  St  Peter,  and  to  one  or  two  of  Paul's  Epistles.  But  it  has  no 
weight;  for  the  similarities  of  expression  are  merely  such  as 
would  naturally  arise  from  the  fact  that  from  the  very  beginning 
the  apostolic  testimony  must  of  necessity,  amid  much  freedom 
and  variety,  have  yet,  on  many  cardinal  truths,  assumed  set 
forms  of  expression,  which  were  greatly  prized  and  very  useful' 
throughout  the  church — commonplaces  of  Christian  theology. 
It  seems  most  probable,  then,  all  things  considered,  that  the 
Epistle  was  written  before,  but  not  long  before,  a.d.  50,  and 
that  it  is  the  earliest  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament. 

I  It  may  be  said  that  this  argument  proves  nothing,  because  it  might  be 
applied  with  as  much  force  in  the  other  direction';  for  if  James  wrote  first, 
might  we  not  expect  Paul  to  have  referred  to  him  somewhere?  This  is 
hardly  sound,  however ;  for  we  have  no  reason  to  think  that  the  specialties 
of  James's  teaching  were  at  all  so  widely  known  and  discussed  as  those  of 
Paul's. 


Introduction.  55 

The  Epistle  of  James  received  universal  acceptance  in  the 
church,  as  of  canonical  authority,  somewhat  later  than  many 
other  parts  of  the  New  Testament.  This  is  easily  explained, 
when  we  remember  the  early  history  of  the  church,  by  the 
jealousy  that  the  Gentile  Christians  would  naturally  feel  in 
regard  to  a  treatise  so  distinguished  by  Jewish  colouring,  and 
also  by  the  seeming  opposition  in  which  at  first  sight  James's 
teaching  regarding  justification  stands  to  that  of  Paul.  A 
strong  argument  for  the  authenticity  of  the  Epistle  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  it  appears  in  the  very  early  Syriac  version  of 
the  Bible  called  the  Peshito,  from  which  the  Apocalypse  and 
several  of  the  Epistles  are  excluded,  evidently  from  their  not 
having  been  as  yet  fully  recognised  as  canonical.  This  judg- 
ment, coming  from  the  region  to  which  in  all  probability  the 
Epistle  was  first  sent,  and  where  all  the  facts  regarding  it  were 
most  likely  to  be  accurately  known,  is  of  the  highest  import- 
ance. Luther,  as  is  well  known,  doubted  the  authenticity  of 
the  Epistle,  mainly  because  of  its  teaching  on  the  subject  of 
justification  ;  but  this  ground  of  hesitation  totally  disappears  on 
a  careful  examination  of  the  apostle's  meaning.  By  Calvin, 
and  the  Reformers  generally,  the  Epistle  was  fully  received. 
'  On  the  whole,'  as  the  case  has  been  admirably  put  by  Alford, 
'  on  any  intelligible  principles  of  canonical  reception  of  early 
writings,  we  cannot  refuse  this  Epistle  a  place  in  the  canon. 
That  that  place  was  given  it  from  the  first  in  some  parts  of  the 
church ;  that,  in  spite  of  many  adverse  circumstances,  it  gra- 
dually won  that  place  in  other  parts ;  that,  when  thoroughly 
considered,  it  is  so  consistent  with  and  worthy  of  his  character 
and  standing  whose  name  it  bears ;  that  it  is  marked  off  by 
so  strong  a  line  of  distinction  from  the  writings  and  epistles 
which  have  not  attained  a  place  in  the  canon  :  all  these  are 
considerations  which,  though  they  do  not  in  this  any  more  than 
in  other  cases  amount  to  demonstration,  yet  furnish,  when 
combined,  a  proof  hardly  to  be  resisted,  that  the  place  where 
we  now  find  it  in  the  New  Testament  canon  is  that  which  it 
ought  to  have,  and  which  God  in  His  providence  has  guided 
His  church  to  assign  to  it' 


56  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  ya7nes. 

SUPPLEMENTARY   NOTE 
ON   'the   brethren   of  the  lord.' 

The  question  who  'the  brethren  of  the  Lord' were  is  not 
without  importance  in  one  or  two  of  its  bearings  ;  and  the 
student  who  looks  into  it  finds  in  it  an  interest  even  greater 
than  can  exactly  be  measured  by  its  importance, — an  interest 
due  partly  to  our  natural  longing  to  know  clearly  all  that  can 
be  known  of  the  home-life  of  the  Saviour,  and  partly  perhaps, 
as  in  the  case  of  many  other  historical  problems,  to  the  con- 
stancy with  which  an  absolutely  certain  solution  evades  us 
when  we  seem  to  be  nearest  it.  It  seems  desirable,  therefore, 
to  treat  the  matter  in  a  note  a  little  more  fully  than  could  con- 
veniently be  done  in  the  Introduction. 

The  data  in  Scripture  for  forming  a  judgment  on  the  sub- 
ject are  these  : — 

1.  The  language  employed  in  Matt.  i.  25  and  Luke  ii.  7, 
first  clause,  naturally  suggests,  but  does  not  of  necessity 
imply,  that  Mary  bore  other  children  after  Jesus. 

2.  Several  times  in  the  Gospels  we  read  of  the  Lord's 
'brothers'  (a  better  form  in  this  discussion  than  'brethren,'  the 
latter  from  its  modern  use  having  a  little  tendency  to  mislead), 
and  in  two  places  also  of  His  'sisters'  (Matt.  xii.  46,  47,  xiii. 
55  ;  Mark  iii.  31,  vi.  3;  Luke  viii.  19;  John  ii.  12,  vii.  3,  5, 
10  ;  also  Acts  i.  14). 

3.  In  all  these  passages,  except  John  vii.  3-10,  the 
'brothers'  are  spoken  of  in  connection  with  Mary  the  mother 
of  Jesus. 

4.  By  John  (vii.  5)  it  is  said  that  the  'brothers'  of  Jesus  'did 
not  believe  on  Him.'  The  remark  is  made  in  connection  with 
a  conversation  that  took  place  between  Jesus  and  them  less 
than  a  year  before  the  crucifixion. 

5.  The  names  of  the  'brothers'  (probably  all,  from  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  brought  in)  are  mentioned  by  two 
of  the  evangelists  as  '  James  and  Joses  (or  Joseph,  for  the 


Siipplementary  Note.  57 

reading  varies  in  Matthew),  and  Simon  and  Judas'  (Matt.  xiii. 
55  ;  Mark  vi.  3).  Of  these,  two  at  least  came  to  be  prominent 
teachers,  and  to  occupy  an  apostoHc  or  semi-apostohc  position 
in  the  early  church,  as  is  shown  by  Paul's  words  in  i  Cor. 
ix.  5.  One  of  these  was  James,  for  many  years  the  most 
prominent  of  the  Christian  ministers  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all 
likelihood  the  author  of  the  Epistle.  Paul  (Gal.  i.  19)  expressly 
calls  him  '  the  Lord's  brother.'  Another  was  Judas,  or  Jude, 
the  writer  of  the  Epistle  bearing  that  name,  for  he  at  the 
beginning  of  the  letter  announces  himself  as  '  the  brother  of 
James;'  and  the  name  of  'James'  simply  in  the  early  church 
could  point  to  none  but  the  well-known  James  '  the  Lord's 
brother.'  It  has  been  shown  in  the  Introduction,  that  sup- 
posing this  James  and  this  Jude  to  have  been  recognised  as 
apostles  by  the  early  church,  we  are  not  at  all  thereby  obliged 
to  consider  them  to  have  been  of  the  number  of  the  original 
Twelve. 

6.  In  all  the  lists  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  (Matt.  x.  3  ;  Mark 
iii.  18;  Luke  vi.  15;  Acts  i.  13)  we  find  one  named  'James 
(the  son)  of  Alph^us.' 

7.  In  Luke's  lists,  in  his  Gospel  and  the  Acts  (see  reff. 
above),  one  of  the  apostles  is  named  '  Judas  (the  brother)  of 
James.'  He  is  probably  the  same  as  the  Lebbseus  and 
Thaddseus  of  the  other  Hsts.  Whether  the  supplement  should 
be  '  brother'  here  is  very  doubtful,  and  it  seems  more  probable, 
according  to  the  usage  of  the  language,  that  'son'  is  meant. 
Certainly,  looking  at  the  forms  of  expression,  particularly  in 
the  list  in  Acts,  it  appears  natural  to  conclude,  that  if  we 
rightly  render  'James  the  son  of  Alphasus,'  then  we  should 
also  render  'Judas  the  son  of  James,'  for  the  constructions 
(which  stand  very  near  each  other)  are  absolutely  identical. 
Supposing  the  sense  to  be  that  Judas  was  the  son  of  James, 
we  have  no  means  of  identifying  that  James. 

8.  In  John  xix.  25  it  is  said  that  'there  stood  by  the  cross 
of  Jesus  His  mother,  and  His  mother's  sister,  Mary  the  wife 
of  Cleophas'  (more  exactly  'Clopas'),  'and  Mary  Magdalene.' 
Now  this  may  intimate  that  IMary  the  wife  (some  have  thought 


58  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames, 

'  daughter'  the  right  supplement)  of  Clopas  was  a  sister  of  Mary 
the  Lord's  mother.  The  sentence  is  ambiguous,  however ;  for 
it  may  speak  not  of  three  Avomen,  but  of  four,  the  names  or 
designations  being  grouped  in  pairs  ;  thus,  '  His  mother  and 
His  mother's  sister,  Mary  the  Avife  of  Clopas  and  Mary  Magda- 
lene.' This  construction  is  exactly  similar  to  that  in  the  list 
of  the  apostles  as  given  by  Matthew  (x.  2-4).  There  seems 
much  probability  that  the  words  should  be  taken  in  this  way  ; 
for,  though  not  impossible,  it  is  certainly  extremely  unlikely  that 
two  sisters  should  both  have  borne  the  same  name.  The  old 
Syriac  version,  the  Peshito,  inserts  a  conjunction,  in  order  to 
show  distinctly  that  the  translator  understood  four  persons  to 
be  spoken  of :  '  His  mother,  and  His  mother's  sister,  and 
Mary  the  wife  of  Clopas,  and  Mary  Magdalene.'  It  seems  not 
improbable  that  this  insertion  represents  some  tradition  on  the 
subject. 

9.  Among  the  names  of  the  loving  women  who  beheld  the 
crucifixion  and  visited  the  grave,  we  read  of  a  Mary  who  is 
called  'the  mother  of  James  and  Joses'  (Matt,  xxvii.  56),  'the 
mother  of  James  the  Little  (for  such  is  the  exact  rendering) 
and  Joses'  (Mark  xv.  40),  'the  mother  of  James'  (Mark  xvi.  i ; 
Luke  xxiv.  10),  'the  mother  of  Joses'  (Mark  xv.  47),  'the 
other  Mary,'  as  distinguished  from  Mary  Magdalene  (Matt, 
xxviii.  i).  The  James  here  referred  to  may  have  been  '  the 
son  of  Alphaeus.'  The  fact  that  in  two  of  these  passages  the 
name  of 'Joses'  is  added  to  that  of  '  James,'  and  that  in  one 
of  them  the  mother  is  described  by  her  relation  to  '  Joses ' 
alone,  seems  to  show  that  whilst  this  James  was  a  man  well 
known  in  the  church,  yet  his  brother  was  equally  or  almost 
equally  so.  This  renders  it  likely  that  he  was  not  the  'James 
the  Lord's  brother,'  whose  name,  in  the  age  when  the  Gospels 
were  pubhshed,  took  rank  with  that  of  Peter,  and  John,  and 
Paul. 

10.  In  John  xix.  26,  27,  it  is  related  that  Jesus,  on  the 
cross,  seeing  His  mother  and  John  standing  near,  said  to 
Mary,  '  Woman,  behold  thy  son,'  and  to  John,  '  Behold  thy 
mother,'  and  that  John  '  from  that  hour  took  her  unto  his  own 


Supplementary  Note.  59 

home.'  Is  this  conduct  of  Jesus  and  of  John  compatible 
with  the  supposition  that  at  the  time  Mary  had  sons  and 
daughters  ?  This  question  is  discussed  near  the  end  of  this 
note. 

11.  In  the  first  chapter  of  Acts,  Luke,  in  his  hst  of  the 
apostles,  names  'James  the  son  of  Alph^us.'  In  the  twelfth 
chapter  he  mentions  the  martyrdom  of  the  other  Apostle 
James,  the  son  of  Zebedee.  In  the  fifteenth  chapter  he  intro- 
duces, evidently  as  a  man  of  prominence,  one  whom  he  calls 
simply  '  James.'  Is  it  not  natural  to  suppose  that  by  this 
James  he  means  the  son  of  Alphceus,  of  whom  he  had  spoken 
in  the  first  chapter?  Had  we  no  other  information  to  guide 
our  judgment,  such  would  certainly  be  the  natural  conclusion ; 
but  if  we  suppose  another  James  to  have  been  so  distinguished 
at  the  time  when  the  book  of  Acts  was  published,  that  the 
mere  name  would  at  once  suggest  him  to  all  readers,  the  case 
is  altered. 

12.  To  these  Scripture  statements  falls  to  be  added,  as 
among  the  data  for  a  judgment  on  the  subject,  the  conjecture 
that  Alphffius  and  Clopas  are  different  forms  of  the  same 
Aramaic  name.  This  is  not  impossible ;  but  from  the  fact 
that  in  the  Syriac  versions,  made  by  men  who,  we  can  hardly 
but  suppose,  must  have  known  well  about  Aramaic  names  and 
their  renderings,  different  forms  are  employed  for  Alpheeus  and 
Clopas,  it  seems  probable  that  they  are  distinct. 

13.  It  may  also  be  added  that,  according  to  a  statement 
of  the  early  historian  Hegesippus,  the  name  of  a  brother  of 
Joseph,  Mary's  husband,  was  Clopas. 

14.  Among  the  factors  in  the  formation  of  opinion  on  this 
subject,  has  entered  in  illegitimately,  but  most  influentially, 
aversion  to  the  thought  that  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus  bore 
any  other  children.  Springing  up  at  a  very  early  period,  as 
ascetic  notions  regarding  marriage  gained  strength,  this  feeling 
grew  so  potent  and  wide-spread,  that  Mary's  perpetual  virginity 
became  throughout  Christendom  a  most  cherished  article  of 
belief.  Even  among  Protestants,  to  whom  the  Mariolatry  and 
asceticism  of  the  Church  of  Rome  are  utterly  offensive,  this 


6o  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames. 

feeling  exercises  considerable  power,  and  over  certain  tem- 
peraments probably  always  will.  But  it  certainly  finds  no 
support  in  Scripture,  either  in  the  language  of  respect  uniformly 
employed  regarding  marriage,  or  in  what  is  said  specially  of 
the  wedded  life  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (see  datum  i  above). 

The  most  prevalent  opinion  on  the  subject  has  been,  that 
Alph^us,  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  Clopas  {data  12,  13),  was 
the  husband  of  a  sister  of  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  who  was 
also  named  Mary  (8,  9) ;  that  their  children,  who  were  thus 
cousins  of  Jesus,  were  from  some  cause  associated  unusually 
closely  with  their  aunt,  Mary  the  Lord's  mother ;  that  by  a 
loose  use  of  the  term  they  were  commonly  known  as  'the 
brothers  of  the  Lord  ;'  and  that  at  least  two  of  them,  James 
and  Jude  (7),  were  in  the  number  of  the  Twelve  Apostles.  To 
this  theory  the  strong  objection  lies  at  the  very  outset,  that,  as 
has  been  conclusively  shown  by  Dr.  Lightfoot,  it  was  wholly 
unknown  in  the  church  till  near  the  end  of  the  fourth  century, 
when  it  was  put  forth  by  Jerome,  avowedly  to  remove  all 
doubt  regarding  the  perpetual  virginity  of  Mary.  Had  it  been 
well  founded,  tradition  would  scarcely  have  left  it  altogether 
unmentioned.  In  itself,  the  theory  involves  doubtful  assump- 
tions,— that  Alphjeus  and  Clopas  were  one  (12),  and  that 
'  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and  Joses '  (9)  was  a  sister  of  the 
mother  of  Jesus  (8).  Again,  supposing  those  called  'the 
brothers  of  the  Lord '  to  have  been  really  His  cousins,  it  is  in- 
explicable that,  their  mother  being  alive,  they  should  always, 
when  spoken  of  under  the  name  '  the  brothers  of  the  Lord,'  be 
associated  with  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  never  with  their 
own  mother.  Further,  supposing  two,  or  even  only  one,  of 
these  '  brothers '  to  have  been  in  the  number  of  the  Twelve,  it 
appears  very  strange  that  John  makes  his  statement  regarding 
unbelief  (4)  without  mentioning  any  exceptions.  Finally,  the 
employment  of  the  words  '  brother '  and  '  sister,'  when  intended 
obviously  to  express  a  definite  family  relationship  (not  loosely 
for  '  fellow-Christian'  or  the  like),  in  any  other  than  the  strict 
sense,  is  wholly  contrary  to  New  Testament  usage,  and  finds 
very  inadequate  support  in  the  Old  Testament.     Lot  is  called 


Supplementary  Note.  6i 

a  '  brother '  of  Abraham,  and  Jacob  of  Laban,  they  being 
really  nephews ;  but  the  word  is  not  used  of  any  more  distant 
connection.  The  suggestion  made  by  some  advocates  of  the 
cousin  theory,  that,  Alphgeus  having  died,  Joseph  may  have 
adopted  his  children,  accounts  in  a  measure  for  the  use  of  the 
words  ' brothers '  and  'sisters;'  but  it  does  not  at  all  obviate 
the  other  objections,  and  it  is  totally  unsupported  by  any  hint 
in  Scripture  or  tradition.  On  the  whole,  it  is  difficult  to  resist 
the  impression  that  this  theory  would  never  have  arisen,  and 
would  never  have  found  such  acceptance  as  it  has,  but  for 
the  influence  of  feeling  and  dogma  {14).  The  fact  that,  by 
rejecting  this  view,  we  are  left  with  two  families  in  each  of 
which  are  a  James  and  a  Joses  (5,  9),  and  perhaps  (7)  also  a 
Jude,  need  cause  no  difficulty,  for  these  were  very  common 
Jewish  names  ;  and  if  the  two  sets  of  brothers  were  cousins  to 
each  other,  their  having  the  same  names  is  all  the  more  easily 
understood. 

That  those  called  '  the  Lord's  brothers '  were  children  of 
Joseph  by  a  former  wife,  appears  to  have  been  the  view  gene- 
rally entertained  in  the  church  before  the  time  of  Jerome.  By 
some,  TertuUian  and  others,  they  were  considered  to  have  been 
children  of  Joseph  and  Mary.  The  weight  in  favour  of  the 
former  of  these  opinions,  which  would  otherwise  belong  to  the 
fact  that  it  was  the  prevailing  one  in  those  early  times,  Avhen 
we  might  suppose  some  authentic  tradition  on  the  point  to 
have  still  existed,  is  very  greatly  diminished  by  the  considera- 
tion that,  almost  from  the  very  first  age,  the  sentimental  and 
dogmatic  influence  already  spoken  of  (14)  was  to  some  extent 
in  operation.  Either  of  these  views  satisfies  many  of  the  re- 
quirements of  a  candid  exegesis ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  choose 
with  much  decision  between  them.  In  support  of  the  opinion 
that  those  named  the  '  brothers '  and  '  sisters '  of  Jesus  were 
such  by  a  real  physical  relationship  (as  children  of  Mary),  these 
arguments  present  themselves — that  this  accords  with  what 
Matt.  i.  25  and  Luke  ii.  7  naturally  imply  (i),  and  that  it 
accounts  perfectly  for  the  closeness  of  their  association  with 
Mary,  as  described  in  the  various  statements  made  regarding 


62  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James. 

them  in  the  Gospels.  Moreover,  on  the  view  that  they  were 
children  of  Joseph  by  a  former  wife,  these  '  brothers '  must  have 
been,  at  the  time  when  our  Lord  was  engaged  in  His  public 
ministry,  considerably  over  thirty  years  of  age,  the  eldest  pro- 
bably not  much  under  forty.  But  the  statements  made  regard- 
ing them  in  the  Gospels  appear  naturally  to  imply  that  they 
were  still  unmarried,  and  residing  with  Mary.  Now,  consider- 
ing how  early  the  Jews  usually  married,  and  that  at  least  two 
of  these  'brothers'  did  actually  marry  (see  i  Cor.  ix.  5),  the 
supposition  that  they  were  so  old  at  the  time  of  the  incidents 
recorded  by  the  evangelists  appears  unlikely.  Further,  the 
genealogies  of  the  Lord  given  by  Matthew  (ch.  i.)  and  Luke 
(ch.  iii.)  both,  in  form  at  least,  show  our  Lord's  connection  with 
David  through  Joseph,  His  reputed  father,  thus  proving  Him 
to  be,  according  to  the  ordinary  principles  of  Jewish  law,  the 
heir  to  David's  throne.  The  argument  on  the  genealogies 
seems  to  imply  that  there  was  no  older  son  in  Joseph's  family. 
It  is  true  that  at  the  very  outset,  in  the  case  of  Solomon,  it  was 
made  clear  that  the  succession  to  David  was  not  necessarily 
to  be  according  to  primogeniture ;  yet,  when  a  genealogical 
argument  is  employed  in  such  a  matter,  without  any  note  re- 
garding exceptional  arrangements,  we  naturally  think,  beyond 
question,  of  primogeniture.  Now,  on  the  view  that  these 
'  brothers '  were  sons  of  Joseph  by  a  former  wife,  the  Lord 
Jesus  was  obviously  not  the  eldest  in  His  reputed  father's 
family.^ 

The  only  serious  difficulty,  as  it  appears  to  me,  affecting  the 
view  that  they  were  children  of  Mary  as  well  as  Joseph,  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  on  the  cross  Jesus  entrusted  His  mother 
to  John,  that  he  might  care  for  her  as  her  son  (10).  Dr. 
Lightfoot  thinks  that,  against  the  opinion  that  Mary  at  the 
time  had  four  sons  living,  besides  daughters,  these  statements 
tell  with  'fatal  effect,'  whilst  he  regards  them  as  'powerless' 

1  From  the  conduct  of  these  '  brothers'  as  described  in  Mark  iii.  21,  31, 
or  the  tone  of  their  language  as  recorded  in  John  vii.  3,  4,  no  decided 
conclusion  can  be  drawn  whether  they  were  older  or  younger  than  the 
Saviour. 


Supplementary  Note.  63 

against  the  view  that  these  were  merely  Joseph's  children, 
which  accordingly  he  adopts.  '  Is  it  conceivable,'  he  says, 
*  that  our  Lord  would  thus  have  snapped  asunder  the  most 
sacred  ties  of  natural  affection  ?  The  difficulty  is  not  met  by 
the  fact  that  her  own  sons  were  still  unbelievers.  This  fact 
would  scarcely  have  been  allowed  to  override  the  paramount 
duties  of  filial  piety.  But  even  when  so  explained,  what  does 
this  hypothesis  require  us  to  believe  ?  Though  within  a  few 
days  a  special  appearance  is  vouchsafed  to  one  of  these 
brethren,  who  is  destined  to  rule  the  mother  church  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  though  all  alike  are  converted  to  the  faith  of  Christ, 
yet  she,  their  mother,  living  in  the  same  city,  and  joining  with 
them  in  a  common  worship  (Acts  i.  14),  is  consigned  to  the 
care  of  a  stranger,  of  whose  house  she  becomes  henceforth  the 
inmate.'  Dr.  Eadie,  on  the  other  hand,  says  :  '  The  objection 
has  never  appeared  to  us  to  be  of  very  great  force  ;  for  we 
know  nothing  of  the  circumstances  of  the  brothers,  and  there 
may  have  been  personal  and  domestic  reasons  why  they  could 
not  receive  the  beloved  charge.  They  might  not,  for  a  variety 
of  reasons,  be  able  to  give  Mary  such  a  home  as  John  could 
provide  for  her.  As  we  cannot  tell,  it  is  useless  to  argue.  We 
are  wholly  ignorant  also  of  their  peculiar  temperament,  and 
their  want  or  their  possession  of  those  elements  of  character 
which  would  fit  them  to  tend  their  aged  and  widowed  parent. 
Especially  do  we  know,  however,  that  up  to  a  recent  period 
they  were  unbelievers  in  her  divine  First-born ;  and  though  He 
who  did  not  forget  His  mother  in  His  dying  moments  foreknew 
all  that  was  to  happen,  still  their  unbelief  might  disqualify  them 
for  giving  her  the  comfort  and  spiritual  nursing  which  she  re- 
quired to  heal  the  wounds  inflicted  by  that  "  sword  "  which  was 
piercing  her  heart,  as  she  contemplated  the  shame  and  agony 
of  the  adored  Sufferer  on  the  cross.  Every  attention  was 
needed  for  His  mother  at  that  very  moment ;  and  He  seized 
that  very  moment  to  commend  her  to  John,  who  had  been  to 
Him  more  than  a  brother,  and  would  on  that  account  be  to 
her  more  than  a  son.  John  was  standing  by,  and  so  was  His 
mother ;  so  that  perhaps  his  ministrations  to  her  had  already 


64  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James. 

commenced.'  To  me  the  difficulty  appears  greater  than  it 
seems  to  do  to  Dr.  Eadie ;  and  whilst  the  argument  exhibited 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  quotation  given  above  would  have 
great  force,  supposing  that  John  had  taken  Mary  home  with 
him  only  for  a  few  days  or  weeks,  it  seems  hardly  to  have  much 
weight  if,  according  to  the  natural  force  of  the  words  employed 
by  the  evangelist,  and  the  uniform  testimony  of  early  tradition, 
we  believe  him  to  have  displayed  towards  her  a  filial  care  till 
her  death.  But  as  regards  the  view  espoused  by  Dr.  Lightfoot, 
these  same  facts  are  perhaps  not  so  utterly  '  powerless '  in  the 
way  of  presenting  an  objection  as  he  assumes.  Considering 
the  closeness  of  the  association  of  the  '  brothers '  with  Mary, 
and,  according  to  all  appearance,  the  thoroughly  affectionate 
nature  of  their  relations,  it  seems  strange,  even  on  the  supposi- 
tion of  their  being  only  her  step-children  (not  so  strange,  cer- 
tainly, as  if  we  deem  them  her  own,  but  still  strange),  that  the 
Lord  should  have  given  her  to  another.  John  may  have  been 
her  nephew, — a  comparison  of  John  xix.  25  (interpreted  as 
speaking  of  four  women)  with  the  lists  given  by  Matthew  and 
Mark  of  the  women  who  witnessed  the  crucifixion,  suggesting 
that  perhaps  Salome,  the  wife  of  Zebedee,  was  the  unnamed 
sister  of  Mary.  Still  the  bequest  to  him  seems  strange.  But 
it  was  obviously  understood  and  acquiesced  in  unhesitatingly 
by  all  parties  concerned ;  and  in  all  likelihood,  as  Dr.  Eadie 
says  in  the  beginning  of  the  passage  quoted  above,  its  ex- 
planation was  found  in  some  circumstance  or  combination  of 
circumstances  connected  with  the  position  of  the  '  brothers,' 
which  we  cannot  now  determine.  The  necessity  of  our  falling 
back  on  this  supposition  holds,  as  it  seems  to  me,  whether 
we  deem  them  to  have  been  children  of  Mary,  or  only 
step-children.  The  mode  in  which  '  Mary,  the  mother  of 
Jesus,  and  His  brothers,'  are  spoken  of  in  connection  with 
each  other  in  Acts  i.  14,  makes  it  not  altogether  impro- 
bable that  the  whole  family  were  still  together,  residing  with 
John. 

On   the  whole,  it   appears   to   me   that   the  theory  which 
regards  '  the  Lord's  brothers  '  as  His  cousins  is  utterly  unten- 


Supplementary  Note.  65 

able,  and  that,  whilst  the  views  that  they  were  children  of 

Joseph  by   a   former  wife,   and   that   they  were   children  of 

Joseph   and  Mary,   are  both  defensible,  yet  the  balance  of 
probability  is  in  favour  of  the  latter.^ 

^ .  In  addition  to  discussions  found  in  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  a  con- 
siderable body  of  literature  has  grown  up  on  the  question  in  modem  times, 
both  in  German  and  English.  The  most  recent  detailed  disquisitions  that 
I  have  met  with  are  Dr.  Lightfoot's  Dissertation  in  his  Commentary  on 
Galatians,  and  a  long  note  by  Dr.  Eadie  in  his  Cotnmentary  on  the  same 
Epistle.  An  excellent  condensed  statement  of  opinions  and  arguments  is 
contained  in  Andrews's  Life  of  our  Lord,  pp.  97-108, 


JOY   IN  TRIALS. 

'  James,  a  servant  of  God  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  twelve  tribes 
which  are  scattered  abroad,  greeting.  2  My  brethren,  count  it  all 
joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers  temptations  :  3  Knowing  this,  that  the 
trying  of  your  faith  worketh  patience.  4  But  let  patience  have  her 
perfect  work,  that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  nothing. ' — 
James  i.  1-4. 

THE  Epistle  begins,  like  most  of  the  apostolic  letters,  and 
indeed  like  the  letters  of  the  ancients  generally,  with  an 
announcement  of  the  name  of  the  writer,  and  of  that  of  the 
persons  addressed.  After  giving  his  name,  he  describes  him- 
self, you  observe,  as  '  a  servant  of  God.'  The  holiest  of  men 
is  no  more  than  this.  Of  Messiah  the  Prince,  Jehovah  says 
'  Behold  my  Servant.'  God  graciously  gives  His  people  many 
titles  of  honour :  He  calls  us  '  kings  and  priests,'  '  children, 
and,  if  children,  then  heirs ;'  but  the  spirit  of  '  a  servant,' 
simple  wilUngness  to  obey  Him,  underlies  all  such  relations  : 
whatever  else  we  may  be,  we  are  servants. 

'  Ajid  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ^  In  gospel  times,  all  true 
acceptable  service  to  God  must  have  in  the  heart  of  him  who 
renders  it  this  conjunction.  Only  as  we  see  the  claims  of 
Jesus  to  be  our  Master  and  King,  and  discern  God's  character 
as  revealed  in  Him,  can  we  sincerely  serve  God.  '  When  the 
Comforter  is  come,'  said  Jesus  to  His  disciples,  '  He  will  con- 
vince the  world  of  sin '  (that  is,  of  refusal  to  be  servants  of 
God),  '  because  they  believe  not  on  Me.'  In  Christ  God  has  been 
made  flesh,  and  has  dwelt  among  us,  full  of  the  grace,  and  the 
truth,  and  the  holy  beauty  of  heaven.  God  is  thus  in  Christ 
brought  very  close  to  us  all,  and  the  whole  mass  of  sin  in  our 
natures,  every  sinful  affection  and  energy,  will  necessarily  show 


68  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  i. 

itself  in  antagonism  to  Him.  Rejection  of  Christ,  then,  is 
plainly  for  gospel  hearers  the  grand  manifestation  of  sin.  So 
the  test  of  character  for  us,  brethren, — the  test  whether  all 
that  may  seem  beautiful  in  our  life  springs  from  love  to 
God  and  consequent  hatred  of  sin,  or  from  mere  earthly 
influences, — the  criterion  by  which  'he  that  serveth  God''  is 
to  be  discriminated  from  'him  that  serveth  Him  not^ — is  our 
belief  or  unbelief  in  Jesus,  '  This  is  God's  commandment,' 
writes  the  Apostle  John  emphatically  (as  if  he  would  say,  '  the 
commandment  in  which  is  gathered  up  the  statement  of  all 
duty '),  '  that  we  should  beUeve  on  the  name  of  His  Son 
Jesus  Christ.'  All  this  scriptural  teaching,  you  observe,  as- 
sumes the  divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  losing  all  pertinence  and 
force  on  any  other  view ;  and  the  testimony  given  in  support 
of  that  vital  doctrine  by  such  a  conjunction  of  names  as  we 
have  in  the  verse  before  us,  must  be  recognised  by  every 
candid  reader.  No  mind  unwarped  by  sinful  prejudice  can 
fail  to  see,  that  to  associate  the  name  of  any,  the  highest  con- 
ceivable, mere  created  being  with  that  of  God  the  Father  in 
the  way  in  which  James  here  associates  that  of  Jesus,  would  be 
a  glaring  insult  to  the  divine  majesty. 

Some  have  thought  that  the  description,  '  a  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ,'  proves  the  James  who  wrote  the  Epistle  not  to  have 
been  an  apostle.  The  argument  is  not  sufficient,  seeing  that 
an  apostle,  when  writing  to  persons  whom  he  knew  to  be 
already  well  acquainted  with  his  position  in  the  church,  and 
ready,  therefore,  to  receive  his  instructions  with  due  reverence 
and  confidence,  might  prefer  to  designate  himself  by  some 
more  general  term,  thus  coming  nearer  to  his  readers,  classing 
himself  with  them  or  with  their  office-bearers,  instead  of  giving 
prominence  to  the  peculiar  dignity  of  the  apostleship.  So 
John,  you  remember,  in  the  beginning  of  his  second  and  third 
Epistles,  calls  himself  'the  elder.'  It  is  interesting,  however, 
supposing  James  to  have  been  a  brother  of  the  Lord  according 
to  the  flesh,  to  see  how  entirely  he  sinks  the  earthly  relation- 
ship. He  understood  the  Saviour's  'Yea,  rather  blessed  are 
they  that  hear  the  word  of  God  and  keep  it.' 


VER.  I.]  yoy  in  Trials.  69 

'  To  the  twelve  tribes  7ohich  are  scattered  abroad.^  The  body 
of  Israelites  that  returned  to  Palestine  from  the  Captivity  con- 
sisted mainly  of  members  of  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin. 
The  ten  tribes  that  formed  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  as  distin- 
guished from  that  of  Judah,  had  been  carried  away  to  the 
east  at  a  much  earlier  period  than  the  others ;  and  thus,  when 
the  permission  to  return  came,  these  tribes,  in  which  for  many 
generations  the  religious  tie  connecting  them  with  Canaan  had 
been  very  weak,  had  settled  down  firmly  among  the  heathen, 
with  whom,  no  doubt,  they  gradually  became  completely  inter- 
mixed. Pious  persons  from  these  ten  tribes,  however,  asso- 
ciated themselves  with  the  colony  that  returned,  or  with  the 
portion  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  that  continued  in  Babylonia, 
but  clung  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers.  There  still  remained, 
therefore,  a  body  of  worshippers  of  Jehovah  which  might  truly 
be  called  'the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel;'  and  in  all  likelihood 
this  name,  so  full  of  interesting  memories  for  devout  and 
patriotic  Jews,  was  in  not  unfrequent  use.  Paul,  you  may 
remember,  employs  it  in  his  speech  before  Agrippa,  speaking 
of  the  hope  of  Messiah  cherished  by  '  our  twelve  tribes  '  (Acts 
xxvi.  7).  To  the  words  'the  twelve  tribes'  James  adds,  ^ that 
are  scattered  abroad^  more  exactly, '  that  are  in  the  Dispersion.' 
'  The  Dispersion '  was  a  name  in  common  use  among  the  Jews 
for  the  condition  in  which  since  the  Captivity  great  numbers 
of  their  race  had  been,  or  sometimes  for  those  who  were  in 
that  condition.  Not  merely  did  a  great  number,  as  we  have 
seen,  remain  in  Babylonia ;  but  of  the  descendants  of  those 
who  returned  to  Palestine,  multitudes  were  led,  for  commercial 
and  other  reasons,  to  emigrate  to  various  countries,  so  that  in 
course  of  time  Jews  were  to  be  found  in  almost  all  parts  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  This  state  of  things,  then,  or  those  who  were 
in  it,  had  the  name  of  '  The  Dispersion.'  John  tells  us  that 
on  one  occasion,  when  Jesus  said  to  His  enemies  'Ye  shall 
seek  me,  and  shall  not  find  me,'  they  said  among  themselves, 
'  Whither  will  he  go,  that  we  shall  not  find  him  ?  Will  he  go 
unto  the  dispersed  (or,  more  exactly,  '  the  Dispersion ')  among 
the  Gentiles'  (vii.  35)?    James's  Epistle,  then,  is  addressed  to 


70  Lectures  an  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 

the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion,  the  Jews  Hving  out  of  Palestine.^ 
The  whole  tenor  of  the  letter  shows  that  it  was  written  to  the 
Christians  among  these  Jews.  This  limitation  is  found  in  the 
address,  however,  only  when  it  is  read  in  connection  with  the 
designation  which  the  writer  has  given  of  himself.  '  To  the 
Jews  of  the  Dispersion, — all  of  them  for  whom  the  words  of 
a  serva?it  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  have  interest  and  value,' — 
such,  no  doubt,  substantially  is  the  meaning.  The  breadth  of 
the  form  of  address  was  fitted  to  proclaim  that  to  all  Israel, 
professedly  '  waiting  for  the  consolation '  of  their  nation,  the 
voice  of  '  a  servant  of  Messiah '  ought  to  be  welcome ;  and 
at  the  same  time  to  remind  the  believing  Jews — often,  no 
doubt,  charged  by  their  unbelieving  countrymen  with  being 
renegade  Israelites,  recreant  to  the  religion  of  their  fathers 
— that  they  were  the  true  '  children  of  Abraham,'  having 
accepted  God's  way  of  fulfilling  His  promises  with  like  simple 
faith  as  Abraham  had  shown  in  accepting  the  promises  them- 
selves. 

Having  announced  his  name  and  intimated  to  whom  he 
writes,  the  apostle  closes  his  preliminary  words  by  the  formula 
of  salutation  customary  in  the  letters  of  the  Greeks  :  '  Greeting^ 
The  chief  captain  who  had  apprehended  Paul  begins  his  letter 
to  Felix  in  this  way :  '  Claudius  Lysias  to  the  most  excellent 
governor  Felix,  greeting'  (Acts  xxiii.  26).  And  it  is  an  inte- 
resting fact,  one  of  those  little  manifestly  undesigned  coinci- 
dences which  are  often  so  important  in  the  way  of  evidence, 
that  the  only  other  apostolic  document,  besides  this  Epistle, 
in  which  this  particular  form  of  salutation  occurs,  is  the  circular 
letter  issued  by  the  apostles  and  elders  assembled  at  Jerusalem, 
which  embodied  James's  proposal,  and  therefore  in  all  like- 
lihood was  drawn  up  by  James  (Acts  xv.  23).^ 

1  The  mystical  sense  which  some  have  attached  to  the  words,  '  the  twelve 
tribes  in  the  Dispersion, '  supposing  them  not  specially  to  designate  Jews, 
but  Christians  generally  as  the  spiritual  Israel,  living  in  this  world  as 
strangers  and  pilgrims,  is  obviously  altogether  out  of  place  and  umiatural 
in  the  address  of  a  letter. 

^  The  same  form  of  salutation  is  i?ietitioned  hy  John  (2d  Ep.  10,  11),  but 
only  incidentally. 


VER. 


2.]  Joy  in  Trials.  71 


The  apostle  proceeds  now  to  his  letter  itself.  His  great  object 
in  writing  it  was  evidently  to  impress  on  his  readers  the  fact 
that  Christianity  is  not  a  faith  merely,  but,  through  the  power 
of  faith,  a  life ;  and,  in  connection  with  this,  to  point  out  to 
them  some  special  dangers,  and  reprove  them  for  some  special 
and  already  notorious  defects.  Many  of  them,  it  appears,  were 
at  the  time  exposed  to  persecution  of  one  kind  or  another. 
With  the  subject  of  trouble,  therefore,  as  prominently  occupy- 
ing their  thoughts,  and  being  of  very  great  importance  in  its 
bearings  on  religious  life,  James  naturally  begins.  And  the 
particular  form  of  his  commencement  is  perhaps  suggested  by 
the  salutation  that  he  has  just  given,  which  in  the  original  is 
the  verbal  form  of  the  word  in  the  second  verse  rendered  'joy.' 
We  find  not  unfrequently  in  this  Epistle  the  form  of  the  con- 
nection between  sentences  or  paragraphs  determined  by  words, 
whilst  a  close  connection  of  thought  is  generally  obvious  also. 
'  James  to  his  readers  wishes  joy.'  '  But  how  is  it  possible  that 
we  should  have  joy,  environed  with  troubles  as  we  now  are?' 
This  would  be  a  very  natural  thought  in  the  minds  of  the 
readers.     To  this  the  apostle  responds  : 

'  My  brethren^  coimt  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  ijito  divers  tempta- 
tions.^ The  word  '  temptations,^  meaning,  according  to  its  de- 
rivation, '  trials,'  has,  like  the  Greek  word  which  it  represents, 
a  considerable  breadth  of  signification.  It  is  often  used  in  the 
New  Testament  for  troubles  of  any  kind,  these  being  looked 
at  as  '  tests '  of  character.  Thus  Jesus  said  to  the  apostles, 
*  Ye  are  they  that  have  continued  with  me  in  my  temptations ' 
(Luke  xxii.  28).  Paul,  in  his  address  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus, 
said  :  '  Ye  know  after  what  manner  I  have  been  with  you,  serv- 
ing the  Lord  with  all  humility  of  mind,  and  with  many  tears, 
and  temptations,  which  befell  me  by  the  lying  in  wait  of  the 
Jews'  (Acts  XX.  18,  19).  And  Peter  speaks  of  his  readers  as 
being  *  in  heaviness  through  manifold  temptations'  (i  Pet.  i.  6). 
'■Joy '  is  plainly  used  here  for  '  a  ground  of  joy ;'  and  '  all  joy  * 
means  'nothing  but  joy,'  'pure  joy,'  or,  more  loosely,  'the 
highest  joy  :'  as  when  Peter  says,  '  Servants,  be  subject  to  your 
masters  with  all  fear  ^  (i  Pet.  ii.   18),  or  Jude  speaks  of  his 


72  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 

having  given  *  all  diligence  to  write  of  the  common  salvation ' 
(Jude  3). 

The  apostle's  injunction,  then,  is  that  his  readers  should 
'count  it  a  ground  of  pure  joy  when  they  fell  into  divers 
troubles.'  To  the  worldly  man  this  is  an  utter  paradox ;  but 
Christians  understand  it.  It  is  not  meant  that  we  are  to  look 
on  afflictions,  considered  simply  by  themselves,  as  a  ground  of 
joy.  This  is  impossible  ;  it  is  opposed  to  the  very  constitution 
of  our  nature.  Now  Christianity,  as  you  know,  proves  its 
divine  origin,  its  having  the  same  Author  as  man  himself,  by 
its  adaptation  in  every  respect  to  our  deepest  nature,  its  op- 
posing itself  nowhere  to  the  nature  that  God  gave  us,  but  only 
to  the  perversities  that  have  been  introduced  by  sin.  The 
Bible,  therefore,  does  not  require  that  we  should  count  pain, 
looked  at  simply  in  itself,  as  a  good  thing,  a  source  of  joy. 
According  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  '  no  chastening  for 
the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous.'  The  persecuted 
Christians,  too,  to  whom  Peter  wrote,  were  '  for  a  season  in 
heaviness  through  manifold  temptations,'  and  he  does  not 
reprove  them  for  it.  The  Lord  Himself,  in  suffering,  said : 
'My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful;'  'Father,  if  it  be  possible, 
let  this  cup  pass  from  Me.'  Christians  would  be  glad  if 
the  ends  of  affliction  could  be  gained  otherwise;  but  seeing 
that,  according  to  God's  infinite  wisdom,  this  bitter  medicine 
is  needed  to  conquer  the  disease  of  sin,  we  are  enabled  by  His 
grace  to  accept  it  meekly  and  thankfully,  and  amid  the  natural 
suffering  to  have,  according  to  the  measure  of  our  faith,  com- 
posure of  spirit,  or  even  great  joy,  in  contemplating  the  blessed 
results  of  tribulation.  In  the  degree  in  which  we  are  enabled 
by  the  Spirit  to  apprehend  the  truth  that  nothing  but  love 
sends  the  troubles  that  come  on  God's  children,  will  our  feeling 
under  them  be  one  of  'nothing  but  joy.'  That  the  precept  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  here  given  through  James  can  be  obeyed,  was 
shown  in  the  first  days  of  the  Christian  church,  by  such  cases 
as  those  of  the  apostles,  who  'rejoiced  that  they  were  counted 
worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  Christ's  name,'  and  of  the  Hebrew 
believers,  who  '  took  joyfully  the  spoiHng  of  their  goods;'  and  has, 


VER.  3.]  yoy  in  Trials.  73 

no  doubt,  been  illustrated  in  the  experience  of  many  children 
of  God  in  all  ages,  '  Divers^  of  many  different  kinds,  are  the 
afflictions  that  God  sends, — varied  discipline,  according  to  the 
varied  requirements  of  different  persons,  or  of  the  different  sides 
of  character  in  the  same  person  ;  but  however  numerous,  and 
diversified,  and  severe,  and  long-continued,  troubles  may  be, 
our  Almighty  Father  can  give  strength  to  '  count  them  all  joy.' 

Observe,  however,  that  the  precept,  and  the  promise  of 
needed  grace  which  is  involved  in  it,  as  in  all  God's  precepts, 
have  reference  to  troubles  which  we  ^  fall  into^  Trials  are 
not  to  be  sought  for  or  rushed  into  :  on  the  contrary,  all  lawful 
means  suggested  by  experience  or  thought  are  to  be  brought 
into  action  to  avert  or  mitigate  them.  Asceticism,  or  a  perverse 
ambition  for  martyrdom  in  any  form,  has  indeed,  as  the  Apostle 
Paul  says,  'a  show  of  wisdom  in  will-worship,  and  humility, 
and  neglecting  of  the  body ;'  but  it  is  wholly  alien  to  the  spirit 
of  Scripture.  What  joy  may  be  felt  amid  such  self-induced 
*  temptations,'  will  be  a  joy  of  foolish  arrogance,  not  that  true 
happiness  springing  from  holy  trust  and  hope,  which  those  may 
and  through  divine  help  will  feel,  who  have  quietly  waited  for 
the  discipline  of  the  Lord,  and  in  His  providence  'fall  into' 
troubles. 

The  apostle  proceeds  in  the  third  verse  to  give  the  reason 
why  believers  should  'count  it  all  joy  when  they  fall  into 
divers  temptations ;'  which  is,  that  the  testing  of  our  faith, 
effected  through  affliction,  is  intended  by  God,  and  therefore 
eminently  fitted,  to  strengthen  our  spiritual  life,  and  in  parti- 
cular to  ripen  the  sweet  grace  of  patience  and  constancy. 

'  Knowijig  this,  that  the  trymg  of  yottr  faith  tuorketh  patience.' 
Affliction  is  a  ^  trying  of  our  faith.'  This  was  evidently  a  com- 
monplace of  oral  apostolic  teaching,  for  the  expression  occurs 
in  the  very  same  form  in  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter  (i.  7).  The 
heart  of  man,  brethren,  '  is  deceitful  above  all  things,'  and  even 
the  Christian  knows  very  little  of  himself.  Affliction  lets  down 
a  blazing  torch  for  him  into  the  depths  of  his  own  nature, — 
and  he  sees  many  things  which  he  little  expected  to  see.  He 
finds  his  faith  weak  where  he  thought  it  strong,  his  views  dim 


74  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes.      [ch.  i, 

where  he  thought  them  clear,  his  pride  strong  and  stubborn 
where  he  thought  it  broken ;  and  he  cries  to  his  Father  for  a 
fuller  sanctification.  Thus  afflictions  of  every  kind  are  '  trials,' 
testing  and  revealing  agencies.  Through  them,  to  give  know- 
ledge to  the  believer,  the  Master,  Himself  all-knowing,  tries 
him  as  gold  and  silver  are  tried  by  fire. 

And  thus  the  'trying  of  our  faith  worketh  patience;''  that  is, 
it  elaborates  in  the  soul  constancy  in  the  faith  and  hope  of 
Christ.  The  meaning  of  the  original  word,  as  you  will  gather 
from  this  explanation,  is  somewhat  wider  than  that  of  our 
'patience:'  it  denotes  ' perseverance '  in  confidence  and  love 
and  devotion  to  God  in  Christ.  James  assumes  that  there  is 
faith,  real  living  faith,  though  it  may  be  feeble.  Where  there 
is  but  an  empty  profession,  or  a  mere  dreamy  sentiment,  un- 
based  on  firm  and  intelligent  convictions  of  truth,  the  fire  of 
trouble  will  burn  it  up.  When  the  sun  is  risen  with  its  burning 
heat,  the  grain  on  the  stony  ground,  having  no  root,  withers 
away.  Satan  turns  to  evil  what  God  had  adapted  for  good,  so 
that  the  trial  worketh  impatience  rather  than  patience.  But 
where  there  is  true  faith,  affliction  naturally  leads  to  deeper 
thought  than  under  other  circumstances  on  sin  and  its  deserts, 
and  thus  frees  the  heart  from  the  control  of  self-righteousness. 
The  sense  of  weakness  leads  to  earnest  wrestling  with  God  in 
prayer;  and  experience  of  the  sustaining  grace  thus  obtained 
strengthens  and  exhilarates  hope  with  regard  to  the  time  to 
come.  The  impression  made  by  affliction  of  the  perishable 
nature  of  mere  earthly  delights,  draws  the  thoughts  forth  to  the 
blessedness  that  God  has  in  store  for  them  that  love  Him ;  and 
the  troubles  of  the  present  time  are  felt  to  be  immeasurably 
outweighed  by  the  '  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.' 
Thus  through  the  trial  of  our  faith  is  wrought  '  patience,' — a 
humble  but  firm  determination  to  cling  more  than  ever  to  the 
God  who  sent  the  troubles  in  Fatherly  love,  who  sustains  us  in 
the  midst  of  them,  who  will  give  glory  and  unmingled  felicity 
by  and  by. 

''Knowing^  the  spiritual  helpfulness  of  afflictions,  then,  we 
should  '  count  them  all  joy.'     And  plainly  our  measure  of  sue- 


VER.  4-]  yoy  in  Trials.  75 

cess  in  the  discharge  of  this  most  difficult  duty  will  depend  on 
the  clearness  and  fulness  with  which  we  'know'  their  useful- 
ness. Here,  as  everywhere  in  religion,  it  is  by  an  intelligent 
apprehension  of  God's  will  that  we  become  strong ;  it  is  '  the 
truth '  that  '  makes  us  free.' 

The  apostle  continues:  '■But  let  patie?ice  have  her  perfect 
work.''  Sore  trouble  is  hard  to  bear  unrepiningly,  very  hard 
to  bear,  as  James  here  enjoins,  joyously.  Satan  and  the 
depravity  of  our  hearts  are  always  lying  in  wait,  ready  to 
make  us  murmur  and  break  away  from  trust  in  God.  Even 
the  meekness  of  Moses  and  the  patience  of  Job  did  not  bear 
up  under  all  temptation,  but  these  holy  men  '  spake  unad- 
visedly with  their  lips.'  And  in  the  case  of  many  of  those  to 
whom  James  wrote,  where  the  trials  spoken  of  were  no  doubt 
persecutions  for  religion,  there  was  very  serious  danger  of  their 
apostatizing  altogether  from  Christ.  '  If  you  are  to  profit  by 
your  sufferings,  then,'  he  says,  'and  not  to  incur  tremendous 
loss,  let  your  endurance,  your  constancy  in  love  and  trust  even 
amid  adversities,  have  a  perfect  work.  It  is  doing  a  great 
work ;  it  is  refining  and  ennobling  your  whole  nature ;  it  is 
building  up  a  stately  temple  of  holy  character  to  the  glory  of 
God ;  it  is  the  instrument  employed  by  God  to  "  keep  you 
unto  salvation."  Oh,  let  it  put  the  copestone  on  the  temple ; 
let  it  have  its  work  perfect,  for  "  he  that  endureth  to  the  end 
shall  be  saved,"  and  he  only.' 

'  That  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wa?iti?ig  7iothing^  The 
term  '  perfect '  is  sometimes  applied  in  the  New  Testament  to 
the  ultimate  holiness  and  blessedness  of  the  saints  in  heaven. 
But  it  is  frequently  employed  also  in  speaking  of  Christians  in 
this  life.  Thus  used,  it  has  sometimes  reference  to  our  state 
of  acceptance  with  God,  as  one  of  complete  justification  :  thus, 
for  example,  Jesus  '  by  one  offering  \v2^h perfected iox  ever  them 
that  are  sanctified.'  In  other  instances,  of  frequent  occurrence, 
the  word  describes  a  'maturity,'  a  ripeness  and  richness  of 
knowledge  and  character,  such  as  might  be  supposed  to  mark 
the  full-grown  man,  as  contrasted  with  the  babe  in  Christ ;  and 
the  naturalness  and  obviousness  of  this  for  those  among  whom 


76  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  ya7nes.      [ch.  i. 

the  apostolic  writings  were  first  circulated  will  be  evident, 
when  I  mention  to  you  that  the  same  Greek  word  here 
rendered  '  perfect '  is  often  employed  to  designate  simply  a 
full-grown  man.  Thus,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  '  Strong 
meat  belongeth  to  than  that  are  of  full  age'  (v.  14);  and  in 
the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  '  In  malice  be  ye  children, 
but  in  understanding  be  men' (xiv.  20).  That  in  this  use  of 
the  word,  '  mature  in  character,'  complete  freedom  from  defect 
is  not  intended,  is  strikingly  shown  by  Paul's  words  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  '  Let  us  therefore,  as  many  as  be 
perfect,  be  thus  minded'  (iii.  15),  immediately  after  he  has  said, 
obviously  with  reference  to  absolute  hohness,  '  not  as  though  I 
had  already  attained,  either  were  already  perfect.'  Through 
their  approximate  perfection,  their  ripeness  of  character  and 
manliness  of  Christian  judgment,  such  Christians  see  all  the 
more  clearly,  and  feel  all  the  more  deeply,  the  measure  of  still 
remaining  defect,  and  press  towards  the  mark  of  absolute  per- 
fection.^ Our  apostle's  injunction  then  is,  that  in  time  of 
trouble  we  should  '  let  patience  have  her  perfect  work,  that  we 
may  be  mature  Christians;'  and  probably  the  precise  force  of 
'  perfect '  is  explained  by  the  '  entire '  which  follows,  and  further 
illustrated,  as  if  to  bring  the  importance  of  this  point  with 
special  vividness  before  us,  by  *  wa?iting  nothing.'  All  of  us, 
my  brethren,  in  religion  as  in  intellectual  culture,  are  in  danger 
of  being  one-sided.  Yielding  to  natural  temperament,  we  are 
apt,  whilst  cultivating  certain  departments  of  Christian  thought 
and  activity,  to  neglect  others.  The  believer  of  a  contem- 
plative disposition,  for  instance,  may  shrink  from  taking  his 
proper  share  of  exertion  in  the  church's  work ;  whilst  another 
Christian,  strenuous  in  labour,  may  forget  to  some  extent  that 
the  tree  of  piety  can  bring  forth  fruit  to  perfection  only  when 
watered  with  the  dews  of  the  Spirit  through  prayer  and  quiet 
communion.  Thus  the  new  man  has  deformities,  growing  in- 
harmoniously,  without  fitting  proportion  of  parts.     And  there 

1  The  most  thorough  investigation  which  I  have  seen  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment use  of  '  perfect '  is  in  a  sermon  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Binney  on  Ccl. 
i.  28,  published  with  three  others  under  the  title  Four  Discourses. 


VER.  4.]        ,  yoy  in  Trials.  77 

are  some  elements  of  holy  character  which  can  be  acquired 
only  in  trouble.  The  beautiful  graces  of  resignation  and  sym- 
pathy can  grow  only  in  a  soil  through  which  has  passed  the 
ploughshare  of  afifiiction,  and  which  has  been  watered  by  the 
rain  of  tears.  Therefore  it  is  that  God  '  scourgeth  every  son 
whom  He  receiveth,'  and  '  every  branch  in  the  true  vine  that 
beareth  fruit,  He  purgeth  it,  that  it  may  bring  forth  more  fruit.' 
Let  constancy  under  trial,  then,  dear  brethren,  '  have  her  work 
perfect,  that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  nothing.' 


78  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  i. 


II. 

WISDOM   THROUGH   PRAYER. 

'  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men 
liberally,  and  upbraideth  not ;  and  it  shall  be  given  him.  6  But  let 
him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  wavering  :  for  he  that  wavereth  is  like  a  wave 
of  the  sea,  driven  with  the  wind  and  tossed.  7  For  let  not  that  man 
think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the  Lord.  8  A  double-minded 
man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways.' — ^James  i.  5-8. 

AT  this  point  the  thought  naturally  occurs  to  the  mind  of 
a  reader  of  the  Epistle  :  '  I  am  sadly  wanting  in  power 
to  exhibit  this  grace  of  patience ;  I  am  unable  to  discern 
clearly  or  to  keep  my  heart  steadily  fixed  on  those  truths  which 
are  fitted  to  maintain  holy  peace  within  it,  but  lose  myself  in 
a  crowd  of  conflicting  thoughts  and  feelings.'  This  thought  is 
taken  up  and  responded  to  by  the  apostle :  the  fo7-m  of  the 
connection  here  again,  according  to  what  I  have  already  men- 
tioned to  be  a  characteristic  of  James's  style,  being  determined 
by  a  word,  the  word  'wanting,'  or,  as  it  might — and  indeed,  to 
show  the  connection,  should — have  been  rendered,  'lacking,'  in 
the  last  clause  of  the  fourth  verse.  With  obvious  reference  to 
this  word,  he  goes  on  : 

*  If  (strictly,  But  if)  any  of  you  lack  wisdofti,  Id  him  ask 
of  God.''  Wisdom,  in  the  Bible  sense  of  the  word,  is  the  grandest 
and  rarest  of  the  acquisitions  possible  to  man.  Knowledge, 
to  a  certain  extent,  is  common  and  easy;  but  to  know  and  to 
be  wise  are  by  no  means  the  same  thing.  Knowledge  is  a 
most  efficient  handmaid  to,  but  a  most  inefficient  substitute  for, 
that  queenly  regulative  discretion  which  sees  and  selects  worthy 
ends,  and  the  best  means  of  attaining  them.     This  is  wisdom. 

'  Knowledge  and  wisdom,  far  from  being  one. 
Have  ofttimes  no  connection.     Knowledge  dwells 


VER.  5.]  Wisdom  through  Prayer.  79 

In  heads  replete  with  thoughts  of  other  men  ; 
Wisdom  in  minds  attentive  to  their  own. 
Knowledge,  a  rude  unprofitable  mass, 
The  mere  materials  with  which  wisdom  builds, — 
Till  smoothed,  and  squared,  and  fitted  to  its  place, 
Does  but  encumber  whom  it  seems  to  enrich. 
Knowledge  is  proud  that  he  has  learned  so  much ; 
Wisdom  is  humble  that  he  knows  no  more.' 

Cowper's  Task,  vi.  88-97. 

It  is  evident  that,  if  '  the  chief  end  of  man  is  to  glorify  God 
and  to  enjoy  Him  for  ever,'  then  wisdom  in  the  highest  sense 
is  simply  another  name  for  religion ;  and  indeed  that,  looking 
at  the  matter  from  the  point  of  view  which  an  immortal  creature 
ought  to  take,  there  is  no  real  wisdom  at  all  where  religion  is 
wanting.  Suppose  the  owner  of  a  factory  for  the  making  of 
some  dehcate  and  expensive  fabric  were  to  bestow  great  atten- 
tion on  certain  departments  of  the  manufacture,  and  exhibit 
much  ingenuity  in  devising  improvements  on  the  machinery  and 
processes  connected  with  these  departments,  but  neglected 
other  branches,  and  above  all,  gave  little  heed  to  the  grand 
purpose  of  the  whole,  so  that  he  produced  unsatisfactory  and 
unsaleable  material, — none  of  us  would  say  that  this  was  a  wise 
man  of  business.  An  actual  case  of  the  kind  is  not  very  com- 
mon, for  the  interests  of  this  world  keep  men  from  such  out- 
rageous folly  ;  but,  alas,  it  is  by  no  means  rare  to  see  a  man 
of  much  worldly  sagacity  heedless  of  the  great  ends  of  his 
being, — diligent  in  the  twisting  of  a  certain  thread,  or  the  pre- 
paration of  a  certain  dye,  for  the  web  of  life,  whilst  yet  the  web 
itself,  looked  at  in  the  light  of  the  Lord,  is  worthless.  True 
wisdom  lies  in  the  subjection  of  all  our  capacities  and  energies 
and  affections  to  the  control  of  high  moral  principles,  and  the 
consequent  faithful  application  of  them  all  to  noble  moral 
uses ;  and  '  the  fear  of  God  is  the  beginning — the  foundation 
— of  this  wisdom.'  'Happy,'  says  he  whom  we  designate  em- 
phatically '  the  wise  man,'  '  is  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom, 
and  the  man  that  getteth  understanding :  for  .the  merchandise 
of  it  is  better  than  the  merchandise  of  silver,  and  the  gain 
thereof  than  fine  gold.     She  is  more  precious  than  rubies ;  and 


8o  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes.       [ch.  i. 

all  the  things  thou  canst  desire  are  not  to  be  compared  unto 
her.  Length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand,  and  in  her  left 
hand  riches  and  honour.  Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness, 
and  all  her  paths  are  peace.  She  is  a  tree  of  life  to  them  that 
lay  hold  upon  her ;  and  happy  is  every  one  that  retaineth  her.' 
It  is  clear  from  the  context  that  the  reference  of  James  in 
the  passage  before  us  is  specially  to  the  wisdom  needed  in 
times  of  trouble,  in  order  to  obtain  spiritual  improvement  from 
God's  discipline,  and  'let  patience  have  her  work  perfect.' 
Wisdom  for  this  is  the  highest  of  all,  and  the  most  difficult  of 
attainment.  Active  performance  of  God's  will  is  easier  than 
patient  endurance  of  His  will, — to  do  well  not  so  hard  as  to 
bear  well.  The  apostle's  '  z/j'  in  '  if  any  man  lack  wisdom,' 
does  not  imply  doubt.  All  men  do,  and  in  this  world  always 
Avill,  'lack  wisdom  ;'  and  there  are  few  clearer  evidences  that 
a  man's  lack  is  very  grievous  than  his  supposing  he  has  none. 
The  'if  seems  to  have  reference  rather  to  the  occurrence  of 
circumstances  in  the  experience  of  the  apostle's  readers  calling 
for  the  exercise  of  this  kind  of  wisdom,  and  thus  bringing  out 
their  sense  of  want,  and  is  therefore  almost  equivalent  to 
'whenever.'  We  are  all  apt  to  think  ourselves  wise,  until 
circumstances  arise  that  test  the  wisdom.  Young  people,  say 
from  seventeen  to  five-and-twenty  years  of  age,  have  often 
much  stronger  impressions  of  their  ability  to  journey  safely 
and  successfully  through  life,  than,  if  they  come  to  real  know- 
ledge of  themselves,  they  ever  have  afterwards,  when  they  have 
had  experience  of  the  difficulties  of  life.  And  so,  probably, 
many  Christians  believe  that  they  are  able  to  endure  affliction 
well,  till  they  fall  into  it.  Those  of  us  who  have  personally 
undergone  sore  trials,  or  have  with  attention  and  thoughtful- 
ness  witnessed  the  trials  of  others,  know  well  what  an  over- 
whelming sense  of  weakness  and  ignorance  comes  over  the 
heart  at  first,  and  v;hat  a  deep  impression  is  made  of  the  need- 
fulness of  special  wisdom  to  guide  and  sustain.  And  where 
the  Christian  is  subjected  to  long-continued  trial,  a  sense  of  the 
necessity  of  constant  supplies  of  wisdom  from  above,  if  patience 
is  to  have  her  work  perfect,  grows  stronger  day  by  day. 


VER.  5-]  Wisdom  through  Prayer.  8i 

'  Let  him  ask  of  God, — and  it  shall  be  given  him'  This  is 
plainly  an  echo  of  our  Lord's  words  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  'Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you,' — one  proof  among 
many  that  are  afforded  by  this  Epistle  of  the  profound  impres- 
sion which  that  divine  exposition  of  the  law  of  the  kingdom 
had  made  on  the  mind  of  James. 

It  was  a  touching  acknowledgment  of  one  of  the  wisest  and 
best  among  the  ancient  heathen,  '  I  know  nothing  certainly, 
except  that  I  know  nothing.'  He  felt  that  he  'lacked  wisdom.' 
But  whither  could  he  turn  to  obtain  it  ?  Men  around  could 
not  help  him,  for  they  were  merely  less  sensible  of  their  ignor- 
ance. The  living  God  was  unknown  to  him, — groped  after 
indeed  dimly  and  wistfully,  'if  haply  he  might  find  Him,'  but 
not  seen  to  be  a  Friend,  a  Father,  with  whom  His  children 
may  hold  communion,  and  '  ask'  of  Him.  We  know  this  ;  and, 
indeed,  the  familiarity  of  the  truth,  as  a  commonplace  of  Chris- 
tianity, obscures  to  us  the  grandeur  of  the  thought  that  the 
Infinite  One,  the  '  King  eternal,  immortal,  and  invisible,'  is 
willing  to  hold  fellowship  with  His  creatures — that  He  listens 
to  the  cry  of  the  contrite  heart — that,  having  by  our  sins 
earned  the  'outer  darkness,'  we  may  yet  'ask'  heavenly  light, 
true  '  wisdom,'  from  the  '  Father  of  lights,'  the  '  only  wise 
God.' 

'  And  it  shall  he  given  him.'  As  certainly  as  He  is  Himself 
the  *  only  wise  God,'  the  only  Fountain  of  wisdom,  will  He 
make  streams  of  that  wisdom  refresh  and  fertilize  the  souls  of 
those  who  ask  Him.  As  certainly  as  He  gave  us  our  souls, 
with  all  their  faculties  and  their  capacities  of  wisdom,  so 
certainly,  in  answer  to  prayer,  will  He  guide  to  the  apprehen- 
sion by  our  souls  of  all  needed  truth,  and  to  a  realizing  sense 
of  its  power  to  sustain  and  comfort  under  every  form  of  trial 
Prayer  obtains  this  true  wisdom, — prayer  only,  prayer  always. 
As  believers  grow  in  prayerfulness,  then,  they  grow  in  wisdom ; 
and  no  less  certainly,  as  they  grow  in  wisdom,  they  grow  in 
prayerfulness. 

'  That  giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and  iipbraideth  not'  The 
apostle  in  these  words  exhibits  the  abundant  ground  of  en- 

r 


82  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes.       [ch.  i. 

couragement  that  we  have  to  pray.  In  the  original,  the  posi- 
tion of  the  participle  rendered  '  that  giveth,'  sets  giving  forth 
in  a  peculiarly  graphic  way  as  a  grand  characteristic  of  God. 
'  God  is  love  ;'  and  this — His  nature — reveals  itself  to  us,  His 
creatures,  in  giving.  He  is  '  the  giving  God,'  and  we  see  this 
everywhere,  alike  in  providence  and  in  grace.  '  He  giveth  to 
all  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things.'  'He  gave  His  only-begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life ;'  and  having  '  delivered  Him  up  for  us 
all,  how  shall  He  not,  with  Him,  also  ixtt\y  give  us  all  things?' 
The  first  of  these  quotations  illustrates  the  truth  that,  in  the 
widest  sense,  God  'giveth  to  alt.''  '  The  eyes  of  alt  wait  upon 
Thee,  and  Thou  givest  them  their  meat  in  due  season.'  '  He 
maketh  His  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and 
sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.'  But  whilst  this  is 
true,  and  whilst  a  great  encouragement  to  prayer  is  found  in 
the  universal  beneficence  of  God ;  yet,  in  the  connection  in 
which  'alt'  stands  in  the  passage  before  us,  it  seems  most 
natural  to  take  it  in  a  limited  sense — '  all  who  ask  Him,  all 
petitioners.'  '  Pray  for  wisdom,'  says  the  apostle,  '  for  God 
answers  every  true  prayer ;  and  it  is  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  His  economy  of  grace  to  bestow  His  richest  gifts 
on  those  who  ask  them.'  '  The  righteous  cry,  and  the  Lord 
heareth.'  '  He  will  regard  the  prayer  of  the  destitute,'  and 
'  fulfil  the  desire  of  them  that  fear  Him.' 

And  to  all  sincere  petitioners  He  'giveth  liberally^ — with 
unstinted  hand,  with  glorious  munificence.  Jacob  asked 
for  '  bread  to  eat  and  raiment  to  put  on,'  and  God  makes 
him  '  two  bands.'  Solomon  prayed  for  '  an  understanding 
heart,'  and  God  said  unto  him,  '  Because  thou  hast  asked 
this  thing,  and  hast  not  asked  for  thyself  long  life,  neither 
hast  asked  riches  for  thyself,  nor  hast  asked  the  life  of 
thine  enemies,  but  hast  asked  for  thyself  understanding  to 
discern  judgment  \  behold,  I  have  done  according  to  thy 
words :  lo,  I  have  given  thee  a  wise  and  an  understanding 
heart ;  so  that  there  was  none  like  thee  before  thee,  neither 
after  thee  shall  any  arise  like  unto  thee.     And  I  have  also 


VER.  5.]  Wisdom  tk rough  Prayer.  ^-^ 

given  thee  that  which  thou  hast  not  asked,  both  riches  and 
honour ;  so  that  there  shall  not  be  any  among  the  kings  like 
unto  thee  all  thy  days.'  The  prodigal  thinks  of  the  position 
of  '  an  hired  servant,'  and  his  Father  says,  '  Bring  forth  the 
best  robe,  and  put  it  on  him  ;  and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand,  and 
shoes  on  his  feet.'  Sweet  and  beautiful,  Jiowever,  as  this  word 
'  liberally '  is,  the  apostle's  own  word  is  something  even  more 
comprehensive  and  encouraging.  It  is  the  adverbial  form  of 
the  term  employed  in  Rom.  xii.  8,  '  He  that  giveth,  let  him 
do  it  with  simplicity ;''  and  Eph.  vi.  5,  'Servants,  be  obedient 
to  them  that  are  your  masters  according  to  the  flesh,  ///  singlc- 
ficss  of  your  heart.'  The  exact  meaning  here,  therefore,  is  that 
God  gives  'with  simplicity,'  'with  singleness  of  spirit :'  He 
does  not,  as  men  often  do,  give  and  yet  in  effect  not  give  :  He 
does  not  give,  and  yet,  by  an  unkind  manner,  or  by  subsequent 
ungenerous  exactions,  neutralize  the  benefit  of  His  giving  :  His 
kindness  in  giving  does  not,  as  so  often  with  men,  '  fold  in ' 
upon  another  motive  of  a  selfish  nature  :  His  giving  is  without 
any  duplicity,  with  singleness  of  aim  to  bless  the  recipient,  to 
reveal  the  love  of  His  own  nature  for  the  happiness  of  His 
creatures. 

'■And  iipbraiddh  nof  is  pretty  nearly  an  expansion,  in  a 
negative  form,  for  the  sake  of  clearness  and  emphasis,  of 
the  thought  already  given  in  '  liberally,'  'with  simplicity  ;'  just 
as  in  the  previous  verse  we  had  '  entire  '  explained  by  '  wanting 
nothing.'  We  may  easily  weary  human  benefactors.  Those 
who  have  often  shown  us  kindness  are  apt  to  feel  continuing 
it  a  burden  ;  and  even  if  they  do  continue  it,  there  is  much 
chance  of  our  hearing  painful  references  to  the  frequency  and 
largeness  of  our  applications,  and  reproaches  for  the  little  pro- 
fitable use  to  which  we  have  turned  their  former  generosity. 
Under  these  circumstances,  a  suppliant  may  well  enter  the 
house  even  of  one  whom  he  has  good  cause  to  acknowledge  as 
a  friend  with  hesitation  and  fear.  But  God,  in  His  giving, 
'  upbraideth  not.'  He  makes  no  mention  of  our  past  folly  and 
abuse  of  His  kindness.  The  beginning  of  the  new  life  exhibits 
the  character  of  the  whole  :  the  Father  runs  and  falls  on  the 


84  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  fames.       [ch.  i. 

neck  of  His  penitent  petitioning  prodigal,  and  '  loadeth  him 
with  benefits.'  He  never  tells  us  that  we  have  come  to  Him  too 
often,  or  have  asked  too  much ;  nay,  He  always  employs  His 
past  kindness  as  an  argument  to  induce  us,  through  trust  in 
His  love,  to  ask  for  more  and  greater  blessings.  '  I  am  the 
Lord  thy  God,'  He  says,  '  which  brought  thee  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt ; — open  thy  mouth  wide,  and  I  will  fill  it.'  And  such 
is  the  confidence  of  His  people :  on  mercies  past  they  build 
up  a  sure  hope  of  new  and  more  wondrous  mercies  to  come. 
'  The  Lord  that  delivered  me  out  of  the  paw  of  the  lion,  and 
out  of  the  paw  of  the  bear.  He  will  deliver  me  out  of  the  hand 
of  this  Philistine.'  '  The  Lord  hath  been  mindful  of  us  ;  He 
will  bless  us.' 

Considering  all  these  things,  then,  my  brethren, — considering 
the  constancy  and  magnitude  of  His  past  mercies,  and  the 
unweariedness  and  tenderness  of  His  grace, — surely  '  if  any 
man  lack  wisdom,'  it  becomes  him  to  '  ask  of  God '  with 
humble  boldness  and  lively  hope. 

'  But  let  him  ask  171  faith,  nothing  wavering.'  Witliout  faith 
there  can  be  no  true  prayer.  Manifestly,  '  he  that  cometh  to 
God  must  believe  that  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a  Rewarder  of 
them  that  diligently  seek  Him.'  Outward  form  of  service 
there  may  be,  but  there  can  be  no  real  approach  of  the  soul 
to  God,  no  '  asking  of  God  '  by  the  heart  for  any  blessing, 
unless  we  have  faith  in  His  existence,  and  pardoning  mercy, 
and  willingness  to  hear  prayer,  all  conjoined  with  a  deep  con- 
viction of  our  need  of  His  help.  And  faith  must,  in  breadth 
of  apprehension,  be  proportioned  to  the  fulness  of  revelation 
given.  For  gospel  hearers,  therefore,  the  only  acceptable 
prayer  is  that  offered  in  simple  dependence  on  the  mediation 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  words  rendered  in  the  present  pas- 
sage '■nothing  waveritig,''  occur  also  in  Acts  x.  20,  where  they 
are  translated  '  doubting  nothing.'  '  Arise,'  said  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  teter,  when  Cornelius's  messengers  were  at  the  gate, 
'  and  get  thee  down,  and  go  with  them,  doubting  nothing,  for  I 
have  sent  them.'  This  passage  illustrates  the  meaning  here  : 
'  Let  him  ask  in  faith,  doubting  nothing  in  regard  to  his  need 


VER.  7.]  Wisdom  through  Prayer.  85 

of  heavenly  help,  or  to  God's  willingness  to  grant  help ;  let  all 
arrogant  trust  in  any  fancied  wisdom  of  his  own  be  laid  aside, 
and  let  him  entertain  a  childlike,  unhesitating  conviction  that 
God  can  and  will  supply  his  need  in  the  way  that  will  best 
promote  the  suppliant's  good  and  His  own  glory.' 

'  For  he  that  wavereth  is  like  a  wave  of  the  sea,  driven  with 
the  wind  and  tossed.''  '  For  the  doubter  is  as  unsteady  and  aim- 
less, as  untrustworthy  with  regard  to  gaining  any  end  that  needs 
determined  perseverance  in  a  certain  course,  as  a  billow  on  the 
sea,  driven  hither  and  thither  by  every  shift  of  wind.'  He  who 
lurestles  with  God, — who,  like  the  importunate  widow,  is  deter- 
mined '  not  to  faint '  in  entreaty, — this  man  '  as  a  prince  has 
power  with  God.'  'The  fervent — energetic — prayer  of  a  right- 
eous man  availeth  much.'  But  what  can  be  expected  to  result 
from  the  poor,  weak,  nerveless  prayer  of  a  doubter  ?  God 
would  have  our  supplication  to  be,  not  like  the  wind-driven 
surge,  but  like  the  strong  current  of  a  rapid  river,  sweeping 
away  obstacles,  bearing  steadily  onward  to  throw  itself  into 
the  ocean  of  the  divine  grace. 

'  For  let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  of 
the  Lord.^^  This  '■for'  is  co-ordinate  with  that  in  the  previous 
verse,  introducing  a  second  reason  why  the  petitioner  should 
ask  'in  faith,  nothing  wavering.'  The  first  reason,  which  we 
have^ust  considered,  was  that  a  wavering  or  doubting  sup- 
pliant exhibits  a  worthless,  aimless  instability  of  character;  the 
second,  bringing  out  explicitly  what  is  suggested  by  the  first, 
is,  that  such  a  person  has  no  reason  to  expect  an  answer  to  his 
prayers.  When  we  present  a  request  on  a  matter  of  import- 
ance to  a  fellow-creature,  particularly  one  much  higher  in  rank 
than  ourselves,  common  respect  requires  that  we  should  have 
well-defined  views  on  the  matter,  that  we  should  not  drift  this 
way  and  that,  but  know  what  we  want,  and  that  he  to  whom  we 

'  Comparing  this  verse  with  the  fifth,  we  naturally  regard  God  the  Father 
as  meant  by  '  the  Lord  ; '  and  this  is  James's  usual  application  of  the  name. 
In  the  other  epistles,  '  the  Lord '  commonly  designates  Christ.  James's  use 
of  the  word,  so  common  in  the  Old  Testament,  accords  exactly  with  the 
peculiar  type  of  his  piety;  and  when  he  applies  it  to  Christ  (as  in  i.  i,  ii. 
I,  V.  7,  8),  the  ascription  in  it  of  Divinity  is  all  the  more  distinct. 


86  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes.       [ch.  i, 

apply  can  give  it  to  us.  Is  it  reasonable,  then, — is  it  other  than 
grievous  folly  and  sin, — to  bring  '  wavering '  into  the  audience- 
chamber  of  the  King  of  kings  ?  To  God  belongs  all  the  glory 
of  man's  salvation  ;  and,  consistently  with  the  principles  of  His 
moral  administration,  He  can  save  only  those  whose  hearts 
consent  that  to  Him  all  the  glory  shall  belong.  He  '  resisteth 
the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto  the  humble.'  He  says,  '  Woe 
unto  you  that  are  rich,  for  ye  have  received  your  consolation  ;' 
but  '  He  satisfieth  the  longing  soul,  and  fiUeth  the  hungry  soul 
with  goodness.'  Now  a  man  who  prays — or  thinks  he  prays — 
yet  in  heart  doubts  through  all  his  devotion,  has  still  a  proud, 
self-asserting  spirit ;  his  hesitation  springs  from  unwillingness  to 
believe  and  to  confess  that  he  is  strong  only  when  he  receives 
of  God's  strength,  and  wise  only  as  he  draws  from  the  fountain 
of  God's  wisdom.  He  will  not  cast  himself  wholly  on  the 
divine  help.  But  God  will  have  no  half  honour;  therefore 
'  let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the 
Lord.' 

'■A  double-viinded  man  is  unstable  in  all  his  way  si'  The 
word  '  is,'  as  you  will  see  from  its  being  printed  in  our  Bibles 
in  Italic  type,  is  a  supplement  of  the  translators.  Some  sup- 
plement of  the  kind  is  needful  in  English  ;  but,  according  to 
the  connection  of  the  sentence  with  what  precedes,  it  should 
rather  stand  at  the  beginning,  thus  :  '  He  is  a  double-minded 
man,  unstable  in  all  his  ways.'  This  is  a  further  description, 
terse  and  pointed,  of  the  doubting  suppliant's  real  character. 
Observe  that  the  man  is  not  exactly  a  hypocrite.  He  is  a 
man  of  divided  heart,  or  who  seems  almost  to  have  two 
souls, — one  disposed  to  lean  on  himself  and  to  seek  wisdom 
and  strength  and  satisfaction  in  the  world,  the  other  disposed 
to  look  to  God,  and  seek  help  and  happiness  from  Him.  How 
vivid  a  picture  it  is  !  Is  there  not  reason  to  fear  that  it  re- 
presents with  sad  exactness  the  spiritual  state  of  many  in  the 
Christian  church  ?  Such  a  person,  the  apostle  adds,  is  '  un- 
stable in  all  his  ways.^  An  inconsistency  of  life  results  neces- 
sarily from  the  dissension  of  spirit,  the  divided  heart.  The 
man,  'halting  between  two  opinions,' would  fain  conjoin  the 


VER,  8.]  Wisdom  through  Prayer.  87 

service  of  God  and  mammon,  would  fain  'fear  the  Lord'  and 
at  the  same  time  '  serve  his  own  gods.'  Hesitation,  incon- 
sistency, varying  purpose  and  effort,  exhibit  themselves  there- 
fore everywhere  in  his  life.  In  his  business  pursuits  and  in 
his  pleasures  there  must  often  be  changefulness  and  manifest 
indecision,  resulting  from  perplexities  and  difficulties  which  to 
the  mere  worldling — the  man  of  no  religious  feeling — are  alto- 
gether strange;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  in  religious  services 
and  Christian  work  of  every  kind,  his  fitfulness  and  want  of 
thoroughness  betray  the  divided  heart.  A  poor,  miserable, 
ignoble  character  this,  brethren, — a  character  which  is  utterly 
incompatible  with  the  enjoyment  of  true  peace  through  God's 
favour  and  fellowship.  '  Let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall 
receive  anything  of  the  Lord.' 


Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  i. 


III. 
RICH  POOR  AND  POOR  RICH. 

'Let  the  brother  of  low  degree  rejoice  in  that  he  is  exalted  ;  lo  But  the 
rich,  in  that  he  is  made  low  :  because  as  the  flower  of  the  grass  he 
shall  pass  a^way.  1 1  For  the  sun  is  no  sooner  risen  with  a  burning 
heat,  but  it  withereth  the  grass,  and  the  flower  thereof  falleth,  and 
the  grace  of  the  fashion  of  it  perisheth  :  so  also  shall  the  rich  man 
fade  away  in  his  ways.  12  Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth  temp- 
tation :  for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life,  which 
the  Lord  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  Him.' — James  i.  9-12. 

THE  connection  of  this  paragraph  appears  to  be  mainly 
with  the  exhortation  of  the  second  verse,  on  which  all 
that  has  come  between  is  dependent ;  with  a  reference,  how- 
ever, also  to  the  statement  in  the  eighth  verse.  '  Have  joy, 
I  say,  in  tribulations ;  and  the  true  way  to  avoid  that  double- 
mindedness  and  instability  which  would  prevent  such  joy  is 
to  keep  the  eye  much  directed  to  those  particular  aspects  of 
our  spiritual  condition  that  are  specially  fitted  to  counteract 
the  misleading  tendencies  of  outward  circumstances.'  Such, 
as  it  seems  to  me,  is  substantially  the  force  of  the  present 
passage,  and  its  relation  to  the  preceding. 

'  {But)  let  the  brother  of  hnv  degree  rejoice  in  that  he  is  exalted.'' 
'■The  brother^  means  simply  'the  Christian.'  '  The  brethren ' 
and  'the  saints'  were  the  usual  terms  employed  by  believers 
in  the  first  age  to  designate  members  of  the  church.  The 
name  '  Christians,'  which,  as  we  are  told  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  originated  at  Antioch,  apparently  about  eight  or 
nine  years  after  our  Lord's  ascension,  was  given  in  all  likeli- 
hood by  the  heathen,  and  only  gradually  came  to  be  accepted 
and  exulted  in  by  believers  themselves.  How  sweet  a  term 
'  brother '  is  !  Were  its  force  universally  understood  and  felt 
throughout  the  church  of  Christ,  what  a  loud  and  emphatic 


VER.  9,]        Rich  Poor  and  Poo?^  Rick.  89 

reiteration  would  thus  everywhere  and  continually  be  given, 
such  as  even  the  inattentive  world  could  not  but  hear,  of 
Heaven's  testimony  regarding  the  objects  of  Messiah's  reign  : 
'  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will 
towards  men  ! '  Sin  has  filled  the  world  with  dissensions  and 
hatreds.  Jealousy  and  anger,  private  quarrels  and  public  wars, 
are  the  natural  fruits  of  depravity.  The  essence  of  sin  being 
selfishness,  self-glorification  and  self-enjoyment,  its  constant 
tendency  is  to  disintegrate  society — to  make  men,  as  far  as 
regards  affection,  isolated  units,  looking  always  on  their  own 
things,  and  not  on  the  things  of  others,  except  with  the  eye 
of  envy  and  greed ;  so  that  even  among  persons  that  God  in 
His  providence  has  linked  most  closely — parertts,  brothers, 
sisters — coldness,  or  even  bitter  alienation,  often  enters  in. 
What  influence  can  neutralize  this  tendency  to  mutual  re- 
pulsion, and  establish  among  men  peace,  and  love,  and  happi- 
ness? The  growth  of  international  commerce,  the  diffusion 
of  sound  principles  of  trade,  judicious  legislation  on  matters 
where  there  is  a  conflict  or  supposed  conflict  between  the 
interests  of  different  sections  of  a  community, — these  and 
other  things  of  similar  influence  may  do  somewhat  to  diminish 
active  hostility,  or  even  increase  kindliness,  between  nations, 
or  classes  in  a  nation ;  but  no  power  can  deeply  and  lastingly 
counteract  the  alienating  energy  of  sin,  no  power  can  make 
men  feel  and  act  towards  each  other  as  '  brethren ' — whom 
'God  hath  made  of  one  blood' — except  vital  Christianity. 
'  One  is  your  Master  (your  Teacher),'  said  Jesus,  '  even 
Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren ; '  or,  as  He  stated  the  same 
principle  on  another  occasion,  '  Have  salt  in  yourselves,  and 
have  peace  one  with  another.'  The  truth  taught  to  humble, 
candid  souls  by  the  One  Master  is  the  only  salt  that  can  pre- 
serve humanity  from  the  corruption  of  sin ;  the  only  salt  which 
(like  Elisha's  cruse  at  Jericho),  when  thrown  into  the  bitter 
fountain  of  a  heart — of  a  world — full  of  hatred,  can  change 
it  into  a  spring  of  the  living  waters  of  love,  fitted  to  give 
health  and  pleasure,  to  diffuse  fertility  and  beauty.  '  Of  His 
own  will  the  Father  of  lights  begat  us  with  the  word  of  truth ;' 


90  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 

and  believers,  being  thus  all  children  of  the  same  God,  neces- 
sarily, in  the  measure  of  the  clearness  and  liveliness  of  their 
faith,  feel  themselves  to  be  'brethren'  of  each  other;  and  as 
'  God  is  love,'  His  image  in  His  children  will  be  recognised 
mainly  in  a  character  full  of  love,  filial  love  to  Him,  brotherly 
love  to  all  fellow-Christians,  compassionate  love  to  the  world. 
My  friends,  let  us  think  out  the  questions  suggested  to  our 
consciences  by  this  scriptural  name  for  a  Christian — '  brother.' 
If  believers  generally  fully  understood  and  acted  out  the  truth 
that  the  church  is  a  brotherhood,  how  immeasurably  would 
her  power  be  increased,  alike  to  give  happiness  to  her  own 
members,  and  to  prevail  with  the  unconverted  to  enter  in 
and  share  her  joy  !  How  legible  and  persuasive  an  epistle  of 
Christ  would  she  then  be,  telling  everywhere  that  'God  is 
love,'  and  that  the  gospel  is  fitted  to  make  men,  in  heart  and 
life,  like  God  !  It  is  when  the  church  shall  be  '  fair  as  the 
moon '  with  holy  beauties,  the  beauties  of  love,  that  she  shall 
be  '  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners '  to  Satan  and  his  hosts, 
— then,  not  till  then. 

'  Of  low  degree.'  Then,  as  now,  there  were  many  poor  Chris- 
tians. And  among  the  Jews  who  embraced  Christianity  there 
was  a  special  cause  of  poverty,  in  the  intense  bigotry  of  their 
unbelieving  countrymen,  through  which,  in  all  likelihood,  many 
were  in  one  way  or  another  deprived  of  their  former  means  of 
earning  a  livelihood,  simply  because  they  called  the  hated 
Nazarene  their  Lord.  It  is  evident  from  various  statements 
in  the  New  Testament,  that  in  the  apostolic  age  distress  pre- 
vailed very  widely  among  the  Christian  Jews  in  Palestine, — 
largely,  no  doubt,  from  the  cause  I  have  mentioned ;  and  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  to  some  extent  the  same  cause 
acted  among  those  '  in  the  Dispersion.'  Poverty,  therefore,  was 
often  most  evidently  a  form  of  suffering  persecution  for  con- 
science sake ;  as  in  our  own  day  it  often  is,  for  example, 
among  Jews  or  Hindoos  who  become  Christians.  Whatever 
the  immediate  cause  of  his  humble  worldly  position  might  be, 
however,  you  will  observe  that  the  Christian  '  of  low  degree '  is, 
none  the  less  for  his  low  degree,  a  '  brother '  in  the  apostle's 


VER.  9-]  Rich  Poor  and  Poor  Rich.  91 

view.  A  truth  this, — and  the  apostle's  prominent  exhibition  of 
it  here, — well  fitted  to  comfort  these  poor  Christians :  their 
poverty  was  no  barrier  to  their  sharing  fully  in  the  privileges  of 
God's  family.  And  it  is  a  truth  important  to  be  borne  in  mind 
by  others.  The  application  in  the  church  of  mere  worldly 
standards  and  estimates  of  men,  is  altogether  alien  to  the  spirit 
of  brotherhood.  If  one  professing  Christian  entertain  for  an- 
other anything  like  a  feeling  of  disregard,  dislike,  contempt, 
simply  because  that  other  is  poor,  lacks  education,  is  destitute 
of  some  of  those  graces  of  manner  which  men  obtain  through 
intercourse  with  polished  society,  this  proves  his  heart  to  be, 
to  a  very  large  extent,  uncontrolled  by  Christian  truth.  Our 
Master,  the  Lord  from  heaven,  was  a  working  carpenter ;  and 
the  disciple  who  '  leaned  on  His  bosom '  was  not  one  of  the 
believing  '  honourable  counsellors,'  but  a  poor  fisherman. 

The  poor  brother  is  enjoined  by  the  apostle  to  '  rejoice  iit  that 
he  is  exalted.^  The  original  word  rendered  ^rejoice''  is  a  very 
strong  one,  commonly  translated  elsewhere  '  glory '  or  '  boast ;' 
and  thus  the  paradox  of  grace  is  exhibited  in  the  most  striking 
form.  Amid  the  depressing  influences  of  poverty,  the  Christian 
is  to  keep  his  eye  fixed  on  his  real  dignity,  and  glory  in  it. 
His  present  low  position  is  merely  in  external  things,  and  con- 
sequently temporary,  and  is  appointed  him  because  his  heavenly 
Father  sees  poverty  to  be  needful  for  the  good  of  his  soul ;  his 
dignity  belongs  to  the  man  himself,  considered  apart  from  sur- 
roundings, and  is  thus  unending,  like  himself  The  various 
representations  given  in  Scripture  of  the  relation  of  believers  to 
God,  and  the  blessings  connected  with  that  relation,  are  most 
graciously  adapted  to  cheer  under  all  aspects  of  the  '  low  de- 
gree.' Many  of  those  to  whom  James  wrote  were  no  doubt 
slaves :  these  are  told  that  they  are  '  the  Lord's  freedmen.'  If 
the  carnal  eye  looked  upon  these  poor  believers  as  '  the  filth 
of  the  world  and  the  offscouring  of  all  things,'  faith  could  see 
in  them  Jehovah's  'jewels.'  However  lowly  their  birth  was 
reputed  here,  they  were  '  sons  of  God ;'  however  intense  their 
penury  here,  they  had  '  the  true  riches,'  laid  up  in  a  treasure- 
house  'where  no  thief  could  break  through  or  steal.'     They 


92  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yarnes.       [ch,  i. 

might  have  to  hunger  often  for  the  food  of  the  body,  but  they 
had  in  abundance  '  bread  of  hfe,'  which  would  sustain  them  for 
ever.  They  were  obHged  to  associate  with,  and  were  them- 
selves ranked  among,  the  despised  of  the  world  ;  but  they  could 
with  confidence  look  forward  to  a  '  crown  of  glory,'  to  the  fel- 
lowship of  angels,  to  the  beatific  vision  of  God,  and  close,  un- 
interrupted communion  with  Him.  And  their  very  tribulations 
were  to  the  eye  of  faith  an  evidence  of  their  dignity,  for  they 
were  Fatherly  chastisements ;  and  in  so  far  as  they  suffered  on 
account  of  religion,  they  were  companions  of  Jesus  in  His 
sufferings,  and  might  take  home  to  their  hearts  the  sweet 
assurance  that  they  should  '  also  reign  with  Him.' 

The  precise  connection  of  what  follows  with  the  preceding 
is  somewhat  doubtful.  Perhaps  the  general  idea  of  '  trial '  or 
'  temptation '  (any  thing  or  state  that  tests,  wealth  as  well  as 
poverty)  had  entered  the  apostle's  mind  before  he  gave  the 
injunction  of  ver.  9,  which  we  have  just  been  examining.  Or — 
and,  as  it  seems  to  me,  this  is  more  probable — the  important 
precept  for  the  rich  may  have  been  suggested  to  him,  as  ob- 
viously it  most  naturally  might,  by  the  mention  of  the  poor, 
and  is  thus  a  digression  from  the  main  line  of  remark,  to  which 
he  returns  at  the  twelfth  verse. 

'  But  the  rich,  in  that  he  is  made  low.''  It  is  clear,  from  the 
general  tone  of  the  writings  of  the  apostles,  that  there  were 
very  few  wealthy  men  in  the  primitive  church.  Few  had  energy 
to  face  the  current  of  j)ublic  feeling  in  the  upper  classes  of 
society,  which  then  ran  strongly  against  the  profession  of  Chris- 
tianity, as  in  all  ages  it  has  run  strongly  against  earnest,  active, 
living  Christianity.  Still  there  were  some  in  the  church  here 
and  there,  like  Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arimath^a.  It  was 
'  hard,'  then  as  now,  but  not  impossible,  '  for  a  rich  man  to 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.'  Timothy  received  from  Paul 
a  charge  for  some  members  of  the  church  who  were  '  rich  in 
this  world.'  Now,  obviously,  the  sjDecial  spiritual  danger  of 
wealthy  Christians  (the  danger,  therefore,  on  which  the  charge 
of  Paul  just  mentioned  bears)  is,  that  they  may  '  trust  in  un- 
certain riches.'      The  '  deceitfulness  of  riches '  is  such  tliat, 


VER.  lo.]       Rich  Poor  and  Poor  Rich.  93 

through  the  falsehoods  whicli  the  unwise  possessors  of  wealth 
are  induced  to  believe  with  regard  to  its  power,  they  lament- 
ably often  neglect  the  great  salvation,  and  throw  away  their 
souls.  The  more  their  beneficent  God  '  loadeth  them  with  His 
benefits,'  the  less,  in  many  cases,  they  think  of  Him  or  desire 
to  serve  Him.  Our  apostle's  direction,  accordingly,  to  the 
Christian  brethren  to  whom  God  has  given  wealth,  is  to  look 
not  on  what  the  world  deems  their  exaltation,  but  on  the 
humbling  of  heart  which,  through  the  gracious  dealings  of  the 
Divine  Spirit  with  them,  they  have  received.  Set  high  through 
God's  providence  in  earthly  station,  they  had  spiritually,  if  they 
were  true  Christians,  been  made  low  in  their  own  eyes  through 
convictions  of  sin  and  unworthiness.  '  Cherish  this  contrite 
heart,'  says  the  apostle ;  '  live  much  in  the  contemplation  of 
those  aspects  of  truth  which  are  fitted  to  drive  away  high 
thoughts  of  self,  and  rejoice  in  that  infinite  mercy  which  has 
led  you  to  see  that  by  nature  you  are  wretched,  and  miserable, 
and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked.  Seek  not  happiness  in 
luxury  and  splendour;  put  off  all  pride  of  spirit;  remember 
that  before  God  you  must  appear  as  you  are,  not  as  you 
seem;  put  on,  therefore,  as  the  elect  of  God,  humbleness  of 
mind ;  be  clothed  with  humility,  for  God  resisteth  the  proud, 
but  giveth  grace  to  the  humble.  In  the  Spirit's  testimony 
to  your  growing  humility  you  may  rejoice ;  for  he  that  exalteth 
himself  shall  be  abased,  but  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall 
be  exalted.'  Such  appears  to  be  the  force  of  the  apostle's 
injunction. 

The  respective  duties,  then,  in  the  contrasted  cases,  are 
these :  '  Let  the  brother  who  outwardly  is  in  a  low  position 
rejoice  that  God  has  made  him  high  in  real  dignity,  and  let 
the  wealthy  brother  rejoice  that  God  has  made  him  low  in 
spirit ;'  or,  as  we  may  express  it — giving  perhaps  a  yet  more 
distinct  representation  of  the  force  of  James's  words,  by  avail- 
ing ourselves  of  the  fact  that  '  humble,'  the  usual  rendering  in 
our  version  of  the  original  word  here  translated  'low,'  has  very 
nearly  the  same  latitude  of  reference  as  that  original  word, 
denoting    sometimes   outward   circumstances   and   sometimes 


94  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 

feeling — '  Let  the  brother  who  is  humble  in.  position  rejoice 
in  that  he  is  exalted,  and  the  rich  in  that  he  is  humbled.' 

The  extreme  spiritual  danger  of  the  rich  man  leads  the 
apostle  to  speak  of  this  a  little  further,  illustrating  the  folly  of 
cherishing  confidence  or  pride  in  mere  external  grandeur  by 
a  beautiful  comparison  showing  its  perishableness.  For  an 
immortal  being  like  man,  it  is  surely  utterly  irrational  to  place 
supreme  trust  and  take  supreme  delight  in  any  pleasure  or 
possession  which  is  not,  like  himself,  imperishable.  A  wealthy 
worldling,  feeling  this  in  the  depths  of  his  soul,  is  sometimes 
almost  led,  through  the  deceitfulness  of  his  riches,  to  dream 
that  they  are  an  imperishable  possession.  A  very  long  life  of 
luxury  and  splendour  at  least,  he  supposes,  is  surely  before 
him,  the  end  of  which  he  will  try  not  to  think  of;  and  he 
trusts,  too,  that  in  a  sense  he  will  live  to  all  generations, — 
that  his  name  and  his  glory  will  endure  in  a  line  of  rich  and 
honoured  children.  '  Their  inward  thought  is,  that  their 
houses  shall  continue  for  ever,  and  their  dwelling-places  to 
all  generations  :  they  call  their  lands  after  their  own  names.' 
'  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years  ;  take 
thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry.'  O  the  folly  and  the 
madness  !  '  Thou  fool,  this  night  thy  soul  shall  be  required  of 
thee.'  '  Like  sheep  they  are  laid  in  the  grave  ;  death  shall  feed 
on  them  ;  and  their  beauty  shall  consume  in  the  grave  from 
their  dwelling.'  '  Let  the  Christian  brother  who  is  rich,  then,' 
says  the  apostle,  '  delight  in  the  grace  that  has  made  him  poor 
in  spirit,  and  not  in  his  external  greatness  ;  because  as  the 
flower  of  the  grass  he  shall  pass  azuay.  For  the  sun  is  no  sooner 
risen  with  a  burning  heat,  but  it  withereth  the  grass,  and  the 
flower  thereof falleth,  and  the  grace  of  the  fashion  of  it  perisheth  : 
so  also  shall  the  rich  man  fade  away  i7i  his  waysJ'  The  term 
rendered  here  '■  burning  heaf  is  often  used  for  a  hot,  desolating 
wind  which  blows  over  parts  of  Western  Asia  from  the  deserts 
of  the  east  and  south,  and  which  is  known  as  the  sirocco.  It 
was  this  that  the  Lord  sent  upon  Jonah,  after  the  gourd  had 
withered ;  and  it  is  to  it  that  David  refers  in  the  words,  '  As 
for  man,  his  days  are  as  grass :  as  a  flower  of  the  field,  so  he 


VER.  T  I.]       Rich  Poor  and  Poor  Rich.  95 

flourisheth ;  for  the  wind  passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone ;  and 
the  place  thereof  shall  know  it  no  more.'  In  the  passage  be- 
fore us,  then,  the  apostle  appears  to  conjoin  the  sun  and  this 
wind  as  agents  of  destruction;  thus:  '  The  sun  is  no  sooner  risen 
alofig  wii/i  the  burning  wind.' 

The  figure  which  we  have  here  is  common  in  Scripture  to  set 
forth  the  brevity  and  uncertainty  of  life ;  and  the  words  of  James 
are  but  a  variation  of  a  well-known  passage  in  Isaiah :  'The  voice 
said.  Cry.  And  he  said.  What  shall  I  cry  ?  All  flesh  is  grass, 
and  all  the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field  :  the 
grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth,  because  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
bloweth  upon  it :  surely  the  people  is  grass.  The  grass  withereth, 
the  flower  fadeth  :  but  the  word  of  our  God  shall  stand  for  ever ' 
(Isa.  xl.  6-8).  The  image  is  one  which  very  naturally  suggests 
itself  to  a  thoughtful,  observant,  imaginative  Eastern.  He  walks 
forth  into  the  fields  at  early  morn,  whilst  the  dew-drops  are  still 
smiling  up  to  the  dawn,  and  he  sees  all  around  a  rich  carpet 
of  long  and  verdant  grass,  among  which  many  beautiful  wild 
flowers  delight  the  eye.  Wandering  again  in  the  cool  of  the 
evening  to  the  same  field,  he  finds  that  the  intense  heat  of  the 
sun  and  the  blast  of  the  scorching  sirocco  have  desolated  the 
beauty  of  the  morning, — the  grass  withered,  the  flowers  faded 
and  dead.  Even  so  is  it,  he  thinks,  with  human  life, — now  gay, 
and  beautiful,  and  happy ;  but  '  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord — the  hot 
wind  of  Jehovah's  judgments — bloweth  upon  it,'  and  it  withers 
away  :  for  '  surely  the  people  is  grass.'  In  the  passage  before 
us  a  special  application  of  the  figure  is  made  to  the  rich  man, 
he  and  his  splendours  being  represented  by  the  ''flower  of  the 
grass.'  So  in  Peter  (ist  Ep.  i.  24):  'AH  flesh  is  as  grass, 
and  all  the  glory  of  man  as  the  flower  of  grass.'  As  amid  the 
monotony  of  green  the  gay  wild  flowers,  by  the  richness  and 
variety  of  their  hues,  attract  the  eye,  so  riches  and  rank  give 
prominence  to  their  possessors  among  the  crowd  of  mankind. 
But  the  '  flower  of  the  grass '  fadeth  with  the  grass  :  so  the 
honoured  and  the  mean  pass  alike  to  the  grave.  The  rich  and 
the  poor  meet  together  there  ;  and  as  to-day  a  pauper  is  carried 
from  his  garret  to  the  churchyard,  so  to-morrow  he  who  but  a 


96  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  i. 

few  days  ago  was  the  envied  enjoyer  of  wealth  and  luxury  may 
be  borne  forth  from  his  halls  and  pleasure-grounds,  and  '  the 
place  that  once  knew  him  know  him  no  more.'  As  the  flower 
withers,  so  also  shall  the  rich  man  fade  away — and  this  '  /// 
his  ways  ' — in  the  very  midst  of  his  activities,  his  purposes  to 
'  pull  down  his  barns  and  build  greater,'  his  busy  pursuit  of 
pleasure,  and  power,  and  greater  riches.  How  immeasurable, 
then,  is  the  folly  of  setting  the  heart  on  mere  outward  splen- 
dour, of  seeking  to  be  clothed  with  the  garments  of  mere 
earthly  glory,  since  these  must  all  perish,  and  those  who  had 
no  other  raiment  must  stand  naked  in  the  presence  of  God  ! 

Before  passing  from  this  part  of  the  paragraph,  it  is  proper 
to  mention  that  some  interpreters  consider  the  rich  man  spoken 
of  in  the  tenth  verse  not  to  be  a  professing  Christian  at  all ;  it 
being  supposed  that,  whilst  there  were  wealthy  men  in  the 
church  here  and  there,  yet  these  were  so  very  few  that  the 
mere  word  '  rich '  would  at  once  suggest  a  member  of  the  per- 
secuting class.  According  to  the  most  recent  form  of  this 
view,  from  the  injunction  of  the  ninth  verse,  '  Let  the  poor 
Christian  rejoice,'  is  to  be  taken  for  the  next  clause  simply  an 
assertion  of  fact,  thus  :  'But  the  rich  (man,  not  'brother' — the 
wealthy  worldling)  I'ejoices  in  his  humiliation,' — in  that  wealth 
and  splendour  which,  as  God  sees  the  matter,  are  degrading  to 
him.  As  the  Apostle  Paul  puts  it,  '  their  glory  is  in  their 
shame.'  The  figure  that  follows,  of  the  perishing  flower,  will 
then  illustrate  wherein  this  humiliation  or  degradation  lies. 
The  mere  possession  of  riches  is  not  in  itself  a  sinful  thing,  a 
humiliation  or  source  of  shame ;  on  the  contrary,  wealth  is  a 
'  talent,'  to  be  faithfully  '  occupied '  for  the  Master  :  but  to 
seek  supreme  happiness  in  perishable  riches,  and  the  transitory 
splendour  that  riches  can  supply, — this  for  an  immortal  soul, 
for  a  nature  made  to  enjoy  God's  favour  and  fellowship,  is  a 
humiliation,  a  debasement  passing  all  description.  '  The  rich 
worldling  glories  in  what,  as  glo7'ied  in,  is  a  shame  to  him.' 
The  meaning  thus  given  to  the  passage  is  in  itself  important, 
and  suits  the  context  well ;  for  you  will  see  how  fitted  a  state- 
ment like  this  was  to  keep  the  poor  persecuted  believers  (the 


VER.  12.]       Rich  Poor  and  Poor  Rich.  97 

only  class  whom,  according  to  this  interpretation,  the  apostle 
addresses  throughout  the  paragraph)  in  a  right  frame  of  heart, 
when  they  were  tempted  to  be  '  double-minded  '  and  '  unstable' 
through  envy  of  their  rich  persecutors.  The  parallelism  of  the 
two  clauses  also  is  on  this  view  very  exact :  the  poor  Christian 
should  rejoice  in  his  real  though  not  seeming  greatness,  while 
the  rich  enemy  of  God  rejoices  in  his  real  though  not  seeming 
debasement.  The  only  serious  objection  to  this  view  of  the 
meaning — an  objection,  however,  so  serious,  as  it  appears  to  me, 
as  to  be  fatal — lies  in  the  unnaturalness  of  the  supplements,  the 
generic  'man'  instead  of  the  special  'brother,'  and  particu- 
larly the  assertion  '  rejoices  '  for  the  injunction  '  Let — rejoice.' 
The  translation  of  the  clause  (the  first  half  of  the  tenth  verse) 
in  our  authorized  version  represents  the  original  exactly ;  so  that 
even  the  mere  English  reader,  reading  the  ninth  verse  and  that 
clause  together,  can  judge  for  himself  of  this  unnaturalness. 

The  twelfth  verse  gives  the  spirit  of  the  whole  passage  from 
the  beginning  of  the  chapter,  and  sends  home  its  teaching 
with  power  to  the  hearts  of  thoughtful  readers,  setting  before 
them  the  glory  and  felicity  which  through  God's  grace  await 
those  that '  hold  the  beginning  of  their  confidence  stedfast  unto 
the  end.'  In  '  Blessed  is  the  man  that  endiireth  temptation '  we 
have  not  a  simple  repetition  of  the  doctrine  of  the  second 
verse :  an  explanation  of  that  seeming  paradox  is  introduced. 
It  is  not, '  Blessed  is  the  man  that  is  exposed  to  temptation,'  but 
'  that  endiireth  ' — '  bears  with  patience  ' — '  displays  constancy 
under  trial.'  'Behold,'  says  our  apostle  elsewhere,  'we  count 
them  happy  which  endure.'  The  wicked  man  suffers;  he  does 
not  '  endure^  in  the  Scripture  use  of  the  word.  It  is  only  when 
'  patience  has  her  work  perfect '  that  the  blessing  comes.  Only 
those  who  have  a  spirit  made  willing  to  bear  right  on  to  the 
end  what  God  sends  (and  this  not  through  efforts  after  a  heart- 
less and  unnatural  Stoicism,  but  in  childlike  submission  to  the 
divine  will)  are  '  blessed,'  '  happy,'  sustained  in  holy  peace  and 
filled  with  bright  hope,  under  His' chastenings. 

The  truth,  or  at  least  one  truth,  which  inspires  this  blessed- 
ness is  exhibited   by  the  apostle  in  the   words  that   follow : 

G 


98  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  l 

'  For  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life.''  The 
meaning  of  the  words  translated  '■  7vhen  he  is  tried''  is  'being 
approved,  found  to  stand  the  trial.'  The  word  here  rendered 
'  tried '  has  '  approved '  as  its  representative  in  every  other 
place  of  the  New  Testament  where  it  occurs  \  and  '  tried '  is 
obviously  intended  by  our  translators  to  have  the  same  mean- 
ing, as  when  we  speak  of  a  '  tried  friend,'  or  when  we  read  in 
Isaiah  (xxviii.  16),  'Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation  a 
tried  stone.'  In  James's  words  there  is  probably  an  allusion 
to  the  testing  of  metals  for  their  purity  in  a  furnace, — the 
figure  fully  exhibited  elsewhere  :  '  The  Messenger  of  the  cove- 
nant is  like  a  refiner's  fire  :  and  He  shall  sit  as  a  refiner  and 
purifier  of  silver :  and  He  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  and 
purge  them  as  gold  and  silver,  that  they  may  offer  unto  the 
Lord  an  offering  in  righteousness  '  (Mai.  iii.  2,  3).  The  man  who 
stands  the  test  shall  'receive  the  crown  of  life.''  His  time  on 
earth  may  be  full  of  sadness ;  he  may  walk  much  in  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  may  even  be  called  on  to  prove 
himself  faithful  unto  a  martyr's  death  ;  but  yonder  there  await 
him  the  blessedness  and  glory  of  the  heavenly  life,  which  is  '  a 
crown '  of  princely  dignity  :  for  '  they  which  receive  abundance 
of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness,  shall  reign  in  life  by 
Jesus  Christ'  With  Paul  this  is  'a  crown  of  righteousness,' 
with  Peter  '  a  crown  of  glory,'  with  Isaiah  '  a  crown  of  glory 
and  a  diadem  of  beauty,'  and  with  the  Saviour  Himself,  as  here, 
*  a  crown  of  life.'  Oh,  brethren,  how  sustaining  is  the  prospect 
that  the  apostle  opens  to  us  here  !  With  a  '  crown  of  life  '  be- 
fore him,  will  not  the  enlightened  and  prayerful  Christian  be 
cheered  and  upheld,  even  if  he  be  called  on  to  be,  like  the 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  'in  deaths  oft?'  ^ 

On  the  '  crown  of  life  '  Archbishop  Trench  has  some  interesting  re- 
marks in  his  Commentary  on  the  Epistles  to  the  Seven  Churches,  p.  102 
(with  immediate  reference  to  the  occurrence  of  the  expression  in  Rev.  ii. 
10).  '  Is  this  crown,'  he  asks,  'the  diade^n  of  royalty,  or  the  garland oi 
victory  ?  I  believe,  the  former.  It  is  quite  true  that  o-rsipavos  is  seldom  used 
in  this  sense, — much  oftener  S/aSjj^a  ;  yet  the  ^'golden  crovras"  (o-rsipavo/)  of 
Rev.  iv.  4  can  only  be  royal  crowns  (compare  v.  10).  Srlipavoj,  too,  is  the 
word  all  the  evangelists  employ  of  the  "crown  of  thorns,"  evidently  a  cari- 


VER.  12.]        Rich  Poor  and  Poor  Rich.  99 

This  crown  '■the  Lord  JiatJi  promised  to  them  that  love  Him. ^ 
Scripture  is  full  of  the  promise  ;  and  simply  on  this  promise 
rests  the  believer's  hope.  When  he  looks  at  his  own  deserts, 
he  can  see  no  crown  before  him — nothing  but  darkness  and 
curse;  but,  'walking  in  the  light  of  the  Lord,'  he  can  see  a 
reward  of  grace  in  the  hand  of  a  loving  Father,  who  has  pro- 
mised, and  'cannot  lie.'  'Hath  He  said,  and  shall  He  not 
do  it?  Hath  He  spoken,  and  shall  He  not  make  it  good?' 
This  reward  is  set  before  '  them  that  love  Hi/n,'  that  is,  before 
all  the  truly  pious,  for  love  to  God  is  the  essence  of  piety  : 
wherever  it  is  present,  there  is  spiritual  life;  and  wherever  it  is 
absent,  how  complete  soever  may  be  the  decorum  of  moral 
conduct  and  outward  religious  observance,  there  is  spiritual 
death.  Looking  back,  you  will  observe  the  light  cast  by  this 
clause  of  the  verse  on  the  'endureth'  of  the  first.  In  the 
apostle's  view,  they  that  '  endure '  and  they  that  '  love  God ' 
are  obviously  the  same  class.  Any  measure  of  '  endurance,' 
even  though  nominally  in  God's  cause,  yet  without  'love,'  is 
valueless  before  Him.  '  Though  I  give  my  body  to  be  burned, 
and  have  not  love,  it  profiteth  me  nothing.'  And  where  true 
love  to  God  exists,  awakened  by  a  sense  of  God's  amazing  love 
to  us,  it  will  bear,  through  His  sustaining  grace,  the  severest 
strain.     '  Love  endureth  all  things^ 

cature  of  royalty.  Did  we  indeed  meet  these  words,  "a  crown  of  life,"  in 
the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  we  should  be  justified  in  saying  that,  in  all  proba- 
bility, the  wreath  or  garland  of  the  victors  in  the  games,  the  "crown"  in 
this  sense,  was  intended.  Paul  was  familiar  with  the  Greek  games,  and 
freely  drew  his  imagery  from  them,  not  fearing  to  contemplate  the  faithful 
under  the  aspect  of  runners  and  wrestlers.  His  universal — Hellenic  as  well 
as  Jewish — education  exempted  him  from  any  scruples  upon  this  point.  Not 
so,  however,  the  Christians  of  Palestine.  These  Greek  games  were  strange 
to  them,  or  only  not  strange  as  they  were  the  objects  of  their  deepest  abhor- 
rence,— as  witness  the  tumults  and  troubles  which  accompanied  the  first 
introduction  of  them  by  Herod  the  Great  at  Jerusalem,  recorded  at  length 
by  Josephus.  Tertullian's  point  of  view,  who  styles  them  superstitiosa 
certaniina  GrcBcarum  et  religionum  et  voluptahtm,  would  very  much  have 
been  theirs.' 

The  argument  is  obviously  equally  valid,  at  least,  for  James  as  for  Reve- 
lation. 


lOO         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes.      [cii.  i. 


IV. 

GENESIS    OF    SIN. 

'  Let  no  man  say,  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God  :  for  God 
cannot  be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  temptetli  He  any  man  ;  14  But 
every  man  is  tempted,  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and 
enticed.  15  Then,  when  lust  hath  conceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin  ; 
and  sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death.' — ^James  i.  13-15. 

THE  apostle  has  closed  his  first  paragraph  by  declaring  the 
'  blessedness'  of  '  the  man  that  endureth  temptation,' 
seeing  that  there  awaits  him  the  '  crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord 
hath  promised  to  them  that  love  Him.'  But  many  of  his 
readers,  he  knew,  were  sensible  that  they  had  not  '  endured' 
under  trial,  but  had  failed  to  show  persistent  and  unconquer- 
able love  to  God.  Some  of  them,  perhaps,  had  under  persecu- 
tion all  but  apostatized  :  some  among  '  the  brethren  of  low 
degree'  were  conscious  that  they  had  not  rejoiced  in  their 
spiritual  exaltation,  but  had  murmured  at  their  outward  humi- 
liation ;  some  of  '  the  rich  brethren'  were  sensible  that  they 
had  forgotten  the  transitory,  unsatisfying  nature  of  worldly 
wealth,  and  too  largely  placed  trust  and  sought  joy  there,  in- 
stead of  exulting  'that  they  were  made  low  :'  many,  no  doubt, 
in  all  classes  of  society,  had  yielded  to  the  seductive  influences 
of  the  licentious  heathenism  around.  To  all  such  the  apostle 
says,  in  the  section  on  the  consideration  of  which  we  now 
enter,  '  Lay  the  blame  of  your  sin  where  it  is  due — on  your- 
selves.' A  conviction  of  personal  responsibility  and  personal 
guilt  must  always  be  the  first  stage  in  the  passage  to  true  peace. 
The  first  part  of  the  mission  of  the  Divine  Comforter  is  to 
'  convince  the  world  of  sin.'' 

'■Let  no  man  say,  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God : 


VER.  13-]  Genesis  of  S  171.  loi 

for  God  cannot  be  tempted  ivith  evil,  neither  tempteth  He  any 
ma?!.^  You  feel  here  that  we  pass  at  once  to  the  bad  sense 
of  'tempt,'  that  in  which  the  word  is  commonly  employed. 
Hitherto  in  the  Epistle  it  has  imported  'trial'  or  'testing'  in 
the  most  general  way.  Here  it  denotes  trial  with  a  malevolent 
aim,  a  desire  to  bring  into  sin  through  the  test.  The  sudden 
transition  without  explanation  to  this  other  use — a  transition  in 
English  corresponding  exactly  to  what  is  seen  in  the  original 
— is  somewhat  remarkable. 

Of  the  reason  given  in  the  second  part  of  the  verse — ^for 
God  cannot  be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  He  any  man ' — 
the  force  seems  to  be  as  follows  : — '  A  tempter  to  sin  must  be 
himself  sinful,  open  to  the  seductions  of  evil.  Now  God  cannot 
thus  be  tempted.  His  absolute  blessedness,  His  infinite  holi- 
ness, remove  Him  wholly  from  liability  to  temptation  ;  and 
as  thus,  from  His  very  nature.  He  cannot  be  tempted  to  sin, 
so  from  His  very  nature  He  cannot  tempt  to  sin.'  I  may  ob- 
serve, in  passing,  that  this  representation  of  God,  simple  and 
obvious  as  it  appears  to  us,  is  yet  due  wholly  to  revelation. 
The  gods  of  heathen  imagination  are  always  conceived  both 
as  liable  to  temptation  to  moral  evil,  and  as  themselves 
tempters.  The  conception  of  their  character  comes  from 
man's  wicked  heart,  and  the  stream  cannot  rise  higher  than 
its  source. 

'  Let  no  man  say,  7vhen  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God.'' 
Under  the  consciousness  of  sin  and  the  terror  of  punishment, 
we  are  all  prone  to  cast  blame  away  from  ourselves — generally 
either  on  other  men  or  on  Satan.  In  the  singularly  interesting 
and  instructive  narrative  given  us  in  Scripture  of  the  first  sin, 
which  was  in  all  essential  respects  the  type  of  all  sins,  we  find 
this  feature  exhibited  very  distinctly.  When  challenged  by 
God,  '  Hast  thou  eaten  of  the  tree  whereof  I  commanded  thee 
that  thou  shouldst  not  eat?'  Adam  answers,  'The  woman 
whom  Thou  gavest  to  be  with  me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and 
I  did  eat'  And  Eve,  in  her  turn,  says,  'The  serpent  beguiled 
me,  and  I  did  eat.'  Every  descendant  of  this  fallen  pair,  save 
that  'Seed  of  the  woman'  who  'bruised  the  serpent's  head,'  has 


102         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James .      [ch.  i, 

said,  or  thought,  in  regard  to  himself  the  same  things.  But 
subtle  as  wicked  men  may  be,  subtle  and  powerful  and  earnest 
in  all  evil  as  wicked  angels  undoubtedly  are,  neither  men  nor 
devils  can  compel  us  to  sin.  We  are  free  to  refuse  the  evil 
and  choose  the  good  ;  and  it  is  our  welcoming  the  temptation, 
our  choosing  the  evil  instead  of  the  good,  that  constitutes  sin. 
In  the  charge  laid  against  Satan  and  evil  men,  however,  there 
may  be  a  proportion  of  truth  :  the  serpent  did  tempt  Eve,  and 
Eve  did  tempt  Adam.  But  there  is  another  mode  of  evading 
personal  responsibility  which  is  wholly  baseless,  which  is  indeed 
utter  and  awful  blasphemy,  devolving  the  blame  of  our  sin 
upon  God.  Certain  false  systems  of  philosophy  (as  fatalism 
and  atheism)  avow  this  doctrine  in  one  form  or  another ;  and 
the  semi-atheistic  materialism  so  lamentably  popular  among 
our  men  of  science  at  present,  has  a  teaching  practically  the 
same,  making  sin  exactly  analogous  to  bodily  disease.  By 
some  expositors,  the  apostle  has  been  supposed  to  refer  in 
the  passage  before  us  to  such  views,  as  professed  by  some 
among  his  readers.  This  is  altogether  improbable,  I  think, 
since  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  persons  holding  and  avowing 
such  convictions  could  number  themselves  among  Christians 
under  any  circumstances,  or,  at  all  events,  what  could  lead 
them  to  do  so  in  an  age  of  persecution.  In  the  words  he 
employs,  James  may  perhaps  glance  slightly  at  such  philoso- 
phical theories,  as  fitted  to  exercise  to  some  extent  an  injuri- 
ous influence  even  on  those  that  might  seem  to  be  placed  by 
their  religious  belief  in  a  totally  different  sphere  of  thought ; 
but  he  refers  immediately  and  mainly,  no  doubt,  to  foolish 
and  wicked  thoughts  that  are  apt  to  rise  at  times  in  the  minds 
of  all,  even  of  those  whose  general  views  appear  most  opposed 
to  them. 

The  thought  which  he  rebukes  will  occur  in  various  forms. 
Thus  :  '  God  has  ordained  everything  that  comes  to  pass  :  He 
has  therefore  ordained  that  I  should  yield  to  the  temptation 
under  which  I  have  now  fallen.'  Now,  everything  connected 
with  the  nature  and  doings  of  the  infinite  God  has,  and  must 
have,  aspects  of  profoundest  mystery  for  man ;  and  thus  it  is  so, 


VER.  13-]  Genesis  of  Sin.  103 

of  course,  with  His  decrees.  But  regarding  them,  these  things 
at  least'  are  plainly  revealed  in  Scripture,  and  to  be  held  fast 
as  fundamental  truths  on  the  subject:  that  God,  who  'is  of 
purer  eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity,'  is  in  no  sense  or  measure 
the  author  of  sin,  and  that  His  decrees  do  no  violence  toman's 
own  will.  '  The  secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord  our  God  ; 
but  those  things  which  are  revealed  belong  unto  us  and  to 
our  children  ;'  and  nothing  is  more  plainly  revealed  than  this, 
that  God  hates  sin  with  a  perfect  hatred,  and  that  all  the  in- 
fluences He  exerts  on  man's  spirit  are  for  the  overthrow  of 
sin.  For  purposes  of  infinite  wisdom  and  love,  towards  the 
understanding  of  which  glorified  saints  will  grow  throughout 
eternity,  God  permits  in  His  universe  the  existence  of  moral 
evil ;  but  it  is  utterly  abhorrent  to  Him  ;  and  w^hencesoever 
it  springs,  in  no  sense  or  degree  does  it  spring  from  Him, 
And  with  God's  eternal  providence  co-exists  entire  moral 
freedom,  and,  by  consequence,  the  fullest  responsibility  on  the 
part  of  man.  Jesus  was  delivered  up  to  death  '  by  the  de- 
terminate counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,'  and  we  see 
in  that  surrender  the  greatest  marvel  of  divine  wisdom  and 
love  in  the  history  of  the  universe  ;  yet  not  less  is  it  true 
that  'by  wicked  hands'  (by  the  hands  of  men  who,  in  their 
deed,  committed  an  enormous  sin)  '  He  was  crucified  and 
slain.' 

Another  common  form  of  the  blasphemous  thought  against 
which  the  apostle  warns  us  is  :  '  I  have  been  driven  to  sin  by 
the  circumstances  in  which  God  has  placed  me.'  If  a  poor 
man  becomes  dishonest,  he  blames  his  poverty.  The  drunkard 
blames  the  associates  among  whom  he  was  thrown,  and  by 
whom  he  has  been  led  on  from  the  pleasant  social  glass  to 
utter  debasement.  So  in  innumerable  other  cases.  Looking 
back  again  to  the  first  sin,  you  find  this  there:  'The  man 
said.  The  woman  whom  Thou  gavest  to  be  with  vie,  she  gave 
me  of  the  tree,  and  I  did  eat.'  You  observe  the  implied  re- 
proach on  God  ;  the  intended  force  of  the  '  whom  Thou  gavest 
to  be  with  me '  clearly  being,  '  Hadst  Thou  not  given  me  the 
woman,  had  I  been  left  as  I  was  at  first,  I  should  not  have 


I04         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 

sinned.'  Similar  is  the  spirit  of  the  rich  man's  petition  to 
Abraham  in  the  parable  :  '  I  pray  thee  therefore,  flither,  that 
thou  wouldest  send  him  to  my  father's  house  :  for  I  have  five 
brethren  ;  that  he  testify  unto  them,  lest  they  also  come  into 
this  place  of  torment.'  There  is  here  an  attempt  at  self- 
justification.  He  would  suggest  that  he  has  been  in  circum- 
stances of  insufficient  religious  light  and  influence,  and  that 
to  them  was  due  his  life  of  self-indulgence,  and  his  coming  to 
the  place  of  torment.  The  answer  of  the  patriarch  may  be 
regarded  as  conveying  God's  response  to  all  accusations  of  this 
kind  :  'If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will 
they  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead.'  These 
words  say  in  substance  :  '  The  Divine  King  is  not  "  an  austere 
man,"  or  one  who  "  reaps  where  He  has  not  sown  ;"  He  will 
make  all  allowances  for  circumstances,  and  never  exact  more 
than  is  reasonable.  If  He  calls  on  men,  then,  to  live  lives 
of  holy  obedience,  and  holds  them  responsible.  He  has  at  the 
same  time  given  ample  light ;  He  has  spoken  in  many  ways 
clearly  and  impressively  of  their  danger  ;  and  if  they  sin,  it 
is  not  because  of  their  circumstances,  but  because  they  will 
not  hear.' 

A  third  form  of  the  charge  brought  against  God,  and  the 
only  other  which  I  shall  mention,  is  one  that  occurs  probably 
not  unfrequently  to  the  minds  of  persons  who  plunge  into 
gross  sensual  indulgence  :  '  I  am  constitutionally  of  a  very 
ardent  temperament ;  my  animal  passions  are  strong  :  there- 
fore it  is  that  I  live  riotously ;  I  cannot  help  it ;  I  am  made 
so.'  Hear  poor  Burns  ('a  name,'  as  has  been  well  said, 
'never  to  be  mentioned  but  with  admiration,  and  pity,  and 
strong  moral  disapprobation '),  —  hear  him  addressing  God 
thus : 

'  Thou  know'st  that  Thou  hast  formed  me 

With  passions  wild  and  strong  ; 
And  listening  to  their  witching  voice 

Has  often  led  me  wrong.' 

And  in  another  place  he  makes  the  muse  of  his  country 
address  the  poet  himself  thus : 


VER,  13-]  Genesis  of  Sin.  105 

*  I  saw  thy  pulse's  maddening  play 
Wild  send  thee  pleasure's  devious  way, 
Misled  by  fancy's  meteor  ray, 

By  passion  driven  : 
But  yet  the  light  that  led  astray 

Was  light  from  heaven.'^ 

This  has  been  well  answered  by  another  Burns,  also  a  true 

poet  :- 

'  It  could  not  be  ;  no  light  from  heaven 
Has  ever  led  astray  : 
Its  constant  stars  to  guide  are  given, 
And  never  to  betray. 

'  When  passion  drives  to  wild  excess, 
And  folly  wakes  to  shame. 
It  cannot  make  the  madness  less 
To  cast  on  heaven  the  blame. 

'  The  light  that  seemed  to  shine  on  high. 
And  led  thee  on  to  sin. 
Was  but  reflected  to  thine  eye 
From  passion's  fire  within. 

'  O  spurn  the  guilty  thought  away  ! 
Eternity  Avill  tell, 
That  every  light  that  led  astray 
Was  light  that  shone  from  hell.' 

All  such  fancies  as  we  have  now  been  considering,  all 
attempts  of  every  kind  to  throw  off  from  ourselves  responsi- 
bility for  our  sins,  are  delusions  of  the  devil  to  draw  us  to 
destruction.  By  nothing  in  our  constitution,  by  nothing  in  the 
circumstances  in  which  God's  providence  has  placed  us,  or 
the  influences  which  He  permits  to  act  upon  us,  are  we  laid 
under  a  necessity  of  sinning.  Reason  has  been  given  to  us, 
— and  truth  revealed  to  guide  the  reason, — to  hold  the  animal 
passions  under  control,  and  to  derive  for  the  service  of  God 
helps,  not  hindrances,  from  circumstances  of  every  kind.  We 
may,  if  we  would,  shun  sin ;  and  we  sin,  simply  because  we 

1  These  passages  from  Burns  have  been  quoted  also  by  Dr.  Wardlaw, 
who  comments  on  them  with  his  characteristic  earnestness  and  sound 
judgment. 

*  The  late  Rev.  James  D.  Bums  of  Hampstead. 


io6         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes,      [ch.  i. 

choose  to  sin.  '  This  is  the  condemnation,  that  Hght  is  come 
into  the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  be- 
cause their  deeds  were  evil.'  '  Ye  will  not  come  to  me,  that 
ye  might  have  life.' 

In  the  words  which  follow,  the  apostle  proceeds  to  set  forth 
the  real  spring  of  sin.  '  But  every  man  is  tempted,  when  he  is 
drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and  enticed.  Then,  when  lust  hath 
conceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin.''  The  word  ^ lust''  here,  as  com- 
monly in  Scripture,  is  not  to  be  taken  in  the  narrow  sense  in 
which  we  now  generally  use  it,  but  denotes  '  sinful  desire'  of 
every  kind,  desire  for  any  pleasure,  or  supposed  pleasure, 
which  in  nature  or  degree  is  opposed  to  the  will  of  God, — be 
it  from  wealth,  ease,  revenge,  bodily  gratification,  or  any  other 
source.  What  God  has  placed  around  us  for  our  enjoyment 
is  in  itself  not  evil,  but  good, — if  we  would  use  it,  and  not 
abuse.  '  The  corruption  that  is  in  the  world'  is  there,  the 
Apostle  Peter  tells  us,  'through  lust;'  which  John,  classifying 
its  forms,  describes  as  '  the  lust  of  the  flesh,'  '  the  lust  of  the 
eyes,'  and  '  the  pride  of  life,' — exemplified,  all  of  them,  at  the 
very  first  appearance  of  sin  on  the  earth.  '  And  when  the 
woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and  that  it  was 
pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,  she 
took  of  the  fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat' 

Observe  the  distinctness  and  emphasis  with  which  the 
apostle  brings  out  personal  responsibility  :  '  Every  '  (rather 
'  each ') '  man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust.' 
This  is  as  if  he  said  :  '  Be  under  no  delusion,  brethren,  on  this 
matter  of  surpassing  moment.  To  think  of  God  as  the  author 
of  sin  is  blasphemy  :  devils  and  wicked  men  can  do  you  moral 
harm  only  by  your  consenting  to  let  the  evil  into  your  hearts  : 
with  yourselves  rests  the  blame  ;  and  you  cannot  cover  your 
responsibility  with  abstract  principles  regarding  human  nature  ; 
you  cannot  hide  yourselves  among  the  crowd  of  a  fallen  race  ; 
each  individual  among  you  is  tempted,  and  that  by  his  own 
lust.' 

This  Epistle  is  throughout  practical,  and  the  apostle  intro- 
duces doctrinal  statements  or  discussions  only  in  so  far  as  they 


VER,  I5-]  Genesis  of  Sin.  107 

bear  immediately  upon  the  conduct  of  life.  Here,  accordingly, 
we  have  no  investigation  of  the  moral  character  of  desires 
themselves,  or  of  the  origin  of  their  depravity.  In  these 
matters  his  readers  might  easily  lose  themselves  in  a  cloud  of 
metaphysics,  and  miss  the  point  of  conviction  to  which  he 
wishes  to  bring  them.  He  assumes  the  existence  of  a  de- 
praved nature  (which,  according  to  the  view  of  the  divine 
character  that  has  been  given  in  the  previous  verse,. could  not 
have  derived  its  depravity  from  God)  ;  and  then,  taking  from 
the  experience  of  each  of  his  readers  any  clear,  decided  breach 
of  the  divine  law,  such  as  the  conscience  of  every  one  would 
readily  suggest,  he  proceeds  to  show  how  that  sin  arose,  and 
this  with  singularly  graphic  force.  The  sinful  desire  within  us 
(some  affection  of  the  '  carnal  mind,'  which  '  is  enmity  against 
God ')  is  represented  as  a  wicked  woman,  who  by  meretricious 
wiles  strives  to  entrap  the  unll^  which  is  in  fact  man  himself, 
morally  considered.  She  '■draws  him  away''  from  the  con- 
templation of  true  pleasures  and  noble  aims,  and  '  entices '  him 
to  give  himself  wholly  up  to  her.  For  a  time,  it  may  be,  he 
resists,  thinking  of  God,  of  grace,  of  judgment,  of  hell,  remem- 
bering perhaps  a  mother's  prayers  or  a  father's  dying  counsels. 
Still  she  plies  her  arts,  and  at  last  he  yields, — the  will  consents 
to  the  wicked  wish, — prompting  becomes  purpose,  desire  de- 
termination ;  and  the  fruit  of  the  unhallowed  union  of  Will 
and  Lust  is  clear,  well-defined,  actual  Sin.  '  Every  man  is 
tempted,  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and  enticed. 
Then,  when  lust  hath  conceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin.'  How 
vivid  and  powerful  this  representation  is,  my  brethren  !  How 
distinctly  does  the  experience  of  all  of  us — our  memory  of  the 
genesis  of  our  sins — attest  the  truthfulness  of  the  picture  ! 

*  A7id  sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death.''  '  Lust,' 
we  have  seen,  '  bringeth  forth  sin;'  but  'the  end  is  not  yet.' 
The  wretched  line  of  posterity  does  not  close  here  :  sin,  too, 
has  its  offspring;  for  ^ when  it  is  finished'— -when  it  has  run 
its  natural  course — it  *  bringeth  forth  death'  ^     The  working 

^  In  the  original,  the  fact  that  the  words  for  '  lust '  and  '  sin  '  are  both 
feminine  contributes  to  the  verisimilitude  of  the  figurative  reprasentation. 


i"o8         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  i. 

of  sin  does  not  end  with  the  angry  speech,  the  He,  the  act  of 
dishonesty  or  sensual  indulgence  :  it  hardens,  darkens,  debases 
the  nature,  renders  the  heart  opener  than  before  to  all  evil  in- 
fluences, and  less  open  to  all  good ;  and  unless  the  divine 
mercy  in  Jesus  Christ  intervene,  will  certainly  at  last  yield  as 
its  result  death,  in  the  most  comprehensive  and  awful  sense  of 
that  word.  From  the  nature  of  things,  death,  in  the  great  Bible 
use  of  the  term — ^blight  and  desolation  over  the  whole  man, 
spirit,  soul,  and  body — is  the  consequence  of  sin.  Sin  renders 
intercourse  with  God,  who  is  the  Fountain  of  life,  impossible. 
It  consists  in  the  exercise  of  feelings  that  in  their  own  nature 
are  utterly  inconsistent  with  true  happiness ;  and  it  increases 
constantly  in  strength,  in  malignity,  in  power  to  destroy  the 
peace  of  the  soul.  Death  follows  sin  as  naturally,  and  by  as 
constant  a  law,  as  the  deadly  nightshade  bears  poison  berries. 
Besides,  looked  at  apart  from  these  essential  tendencies  of  sin, 
the  relation  which  it  bears  to  conscience  and  to  the  justice  of 
God  renders  the  connection  between  it  and  death — between 
iniquity  and  misery — indissoluble.  Death  is  '  the  wages  of  sin,' 
due  to  it  in  justice.  Under  the  righteous  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  universe  by  God,  there  is  the  same  obligation  in 
justice  that  sin  should  be  followed  by  death,  as  that  a  labourer 
should  receive  the  recompense  he  has  been  promised  and  has 
worked  for.  Sin  is  spiritual  death,  and  every  act  of  sin  in- 
tensifies the  spiritual  deadness ;  to  sin,  and  sin  alone,  is  due 
that  awful  and  mysterious  change  which  severs  soul  from  body, 
and  which  we  commonly  call  death  ;  and  when  sin  is  ^finished'' 
— when  it  is  allowed  to  go  on  to  its  legitimate  issues — '  it 
bringeth  forth''  that  intensity  of  misery,  transcending  our  present 
powers  of  conception,  which  John  calls  '  the  second  death,' 
and  which  the  Lord  Himself,  '  the  Faithful  Witness,'  describes 
as  '  outer  darkness,  where  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth.'  Oh,  my  brethren,  may  God  in  His  infinite  mercy  grant 
that  to  all  of  us  the  depth  of  meaning  in  these  awful  words 
may  for  ever  remain  an  undiscovered  secret ! 

Observe  how  fully  arid  strikingly  the  apostle  exhibits  the 
contrast  between  God's  work  and  that  of  sinful  desire;  and 


VER.  I5-]  Genesis  of  Si7i.  109 

how  conclusively  he  has  established  his  proposition,  that  though 
trial  for  man's  good  is  from  God,  tciuptation  to  sin  cannot  be 
from  Him.  Trial  '  worketh  patience  ' — this  is  God's  purpose 
in  sending  it ;  and  when  'patience  has  its  work  perfect,'  when 
the  tried  '  endure '  their  trials,  God  pronounces  them  '  blessed,' 
and  gives  them  at  last  '  the  crown  of  life^  ^  But  wicked  desire, 
when  man's  will  has  yielded  to  it,  '  bringeth  forth  sin  ;  and  sin, 
when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death'  God  gives  life  ;  but 
by  man  himself  always  comes  death.^ 

^  See  verses  3,  4,  12. 

*  Compare  Gen.  ii.  7  ;  Rom.  vi.  23  ;  I  Cor.  xv.  21. 


I  lo         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 


V. 
GOOD   GIFTS   FROM   GOD. 

'  Do  not  err,  my  beloved  brethren.  1 7  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect 
gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights,  with 
whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning.' — ^James  I.  16,  17- 

THE  expression  rendered  here  '  Do  not  err '  occurs  several 
times  in  the  New  Testament,  but  in  all  the  other  places 
is  translated  'Be  not  deceived.'  It  has  always  a  reference  to 
what  has  preceded,  and  at  the  same  time  introduces  a  new  and 
impressive  aspect  of  the  truth  on  which  it  is  said  to  be  of  im- 
portance not  to  err,  or  an  argument  in  its  support.  It  always 
intimates  that  the  matter  under  consideration  is  one  of  great 
moment ;  thus  :  '  Be  not  deceived ;  God  is  not  mocked :  for 
whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap:'  'Be  not 
deceived  :  evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners '  (Gal. 
vi.  7  ;  I  Cor.  xv.  33).  Here,  accordingly,  it  sets  forth  the  vast 
importance  of  right  views  regarding  the  origin  and  growth  of 
sin.  Our  views  on  this  subject  cannot  but  most  materially 
affect  our  feeliiigs  and  our  life.  Where  the  blasphemy  that 
God  is  the  author  of  sin  is  in  a  defined  form  thoroughly  enter- 
tained by  the  mind,  the  man  cannot  be  a  Christian  :  where 
the  thought,  when  it  rises,  is  not  at  once  with  horror  repelled, 
religious  vitality  must  be  very  low,  if  life  can  exist  at  all.  If  a 
right  estimate  be  wanting  of  the  fulness  of  man's  moral  re- 
sponsibility, there  can  manifestly  be  no  correct  appreciation  of 
the  nature  and  evil  of  sin,  of  the  divine  character,  of  the  nature 
of  the  Saviour's  work,  or  of  His  claims  on  our  gratitude  and 
devotion  ;  and  thus  by  false  conceptions  here  the  whole  struc- 
ture of  Christian  faith  and  hope  and  holiness  is  undermined. 
In  every  aspect  in  which  the  thought  that  God  tempts  to  sin 
can  be  presented,  however  modified  or  disguised,  it  is  utterly 


VER.  1 6.]  Good  Gifts  from  God.  1 1 1 

impious,  unspeakably  dishonouring  to  God,  and  destructive  to 
the  soul.  Good  cause,  therefore,  has  the  apostle  for  his  earnest 
appeal,  '  Do  not  err ' — '  Be  not  deceived.' 

This  warning,  you  observe,  naturally  brings  up  before  our 
minds  the  great  importance  everywhere  ascribed  in  Scripture 
to  correct  views  of  religious  truth  generally.     It  is  the  teaching 
of  the  Bible,  that  while  the  spring  of  evil  in  man  is  a  perverse 
will,  a  desire  to  disobey  God,  yet  wicked  emotion  and  action 
arise  immediately  from  the  false  views  with  which  the  blinding 
influence  of  the  perverse  will  on  the  judgment  fills  the  mind, — 
false  views  of  God,  and  of  ourselves,  and  of  the  relation  in 
which  we  stand  to  God.     '  Wherefore  doth  the  wicked  contemn 
God?'  asks  the  Psalmist ;  and  he  proceeds  to  give  the  answer  : 
'■  He  hath  said  in  his  heart.  Thou  wilt  not  require  it.'     Miscon- 
ception regarding  God  as  a  living  God,  who  marks  men's  hearts 
and  lives,  and  will  judge  them,  can  alone  account  for  so  mon- 
strous a  state  of  soul.    Error  being  thus  the  source  of  sin, — the 
suitable  instrumentality  for  His  purpose,  who  '  gave  Himself  for 
us,  that  He  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto 
Himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works,'  is  a  revelation 
of  truth  ;  and  in  exact  proportion  as  this  truth  is  understood 
and  believed — its  meaning  clearly  seen,  and  its  importance 
vividly  realized — is  the  removal  of  sin  from  our  hearts  and 
lives.     '  The  truth  shall  make  you  free,'  was  the  Lord's  declara- 
tion to  the  sin-enslaved  Jews ;  and  His  prayer  for  His  people 
was,  '  Sanctify  them  through  Thy  truth  ;  Thy  word  is  truth.'    It 
may  be  safely  said,  that  there  is  no  error  in  religious  doctrine 
which  is  not  in  its  nature  fitted  to  affect  injuriously  religious 
feeling  and  conduct.     The   digression  from  truth  may  seem 
slight,  as  a  footpath  may  start  from  a  high  road  at  a  very 
small  angle  of  divergence ;  but  follow  it  up,  and  you  might 
soon   find   yourselves  far  away  from  any  point  on  the  high 
road,  travelling  through  a  diff'erent  region.     It  is  grievously  un- 
charitable (but  there  are  few  things  that  uncharitableness  has 
oftener  done   in  the   history  of  the  world)  to  attribute    to  a 
man  who  professes  a  particular  opinion,  all  either  of  doctrinal 
inferences  or  practical  results  which  you  see,  or  think  you  see, 


112         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes.      [ch.  i. 

to  follow  legitimately  from  his  oj^inion  :  for  many  counter- 
acting agencies  may  be  at  work  to  neutralize  the  poison  of 
error,  so  that  many  men  are  much  better  than  their  creed,  and 
if  they  saw  all  the  fair  deductions  from  their  avowed  opinions, 
would  fling  these  from  them  with  horror,  like  one  who  suddenly 
discovered  that  he  had  been  cherishing  a  serpent  in  his  bosom. 
But  for  ourselves,  my  brethren,  we  cannot  be  too  careful  in  the 
formation  of  our  religious  opinions ;  and  this  not  merely  with 
reference  to  cardinal  matters  of  faith,  but  even  to  what  may  seem 
subordinate  points.  '  Let  us  not  err,  my  beloved  brethren  : ' 
let  us  not  be  led  away  by  glittering  plausibilities,  but  think  ear- 
nestly and  conscientiously,  looking  at  subjects  and  statements 
not  simply  in  the  aspect  in  which  they  are  first  presented  to 
us,  but  all  round,  praying  much  always  for  God's  Spirit,  that 
we  may  '  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord.' 

Observe  the  affectionate  manner  in  which  the  apostle  makes 
his  appeal :  '  my  beloved  brethren.^  We  have  a  fine  example 
here  for  all  controversial  dealing.  Passionate  denunciation 
raises  up  in  opposition  all  the  fierceness  or  sullenness  of  a 
man's  nature,  and  thus  deafens  the  soul  to  the  voice  of  truth. 
Love  is  by  many  degrees  the  most  powerful  solvent  of  ob- 
stijiacy  and  prejudice.  It  is  with  the  'bands  of  love'  that 
the  erring  are  by  far  the  most  likely  to  be  drawn  back  to  the 
right  way.  '  The  servant  of  the  Lord,'  says  the  Apostle  Paul, 
'  must  not  strive ;  but  be  gentle  unto  all  men,  apt  to  teach, 
patient ;  in  meekness  instructing  those  that  oppose  them- 
selves ;  if  God  peradventure  will  give  them  repentance  to  the 
acknowledging  of  the  truth ;  and  that  they  may  recover  them- 
selves out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil,  who  are  taken  captive  by 
him  at  his  will.' 

I  said  above,  that  wherever  the  expression  '  Do  not  err '  ('  Be 
not  deceived ')  occurs  in  the  New  Testament,  it  always  has  a 
reference  to  what  has  preceded,  and  at  the  same  time  intro- 
duces a  new  and  impressive  aspect  of  truth  on  the  point  under 
discussion,  or  an  argument  in  its  support.  Here,  accordingly, 
having  in  the  previous  verses  stated  negatively  the  truth  on 
the  matter  he  has  in  hand, — thus :  *  God  is  in  no  sense  or 


VER.  1 7.]  Good  Gifts  from  God.  1 1 3 

degree  the  author  of  sin,' — the  apostle  proceeds  now  to  ex- 
hibit such  positive  truth  regarding  the  divine  character  as  puts 
in  the  strongest  hght  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  the  sup- 
position that  God  could  tempt  to  sin.  '  God  is  love ;  and, 
in  accordance  with  this  His  nature,  His  conduct  to  men  is 
characterized  by  boundless  benevolence ;  and,  in  particular, 
the  awakening  and  fostering  of  spiritual  life  in  men  is  wholly 
His  work  :  must  it  not,  then,  be  utterly  foolish  and  blasphemous 
to  ascribe  the  authorship  of  the  death  in  sin  to  Him  who  is  the 
Author  of  life  in  holiness,  and  who,  from  His  nature,  is  in  all 
things  consistent  and  immutable  ?'  Such  seems  to  be  the  argu- 
ment exhibited  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  verses. 

In  addition  to  this  logical  connection  of  these  verses  with 
the  preceding  section  in  the  line  of  argument  now  stated, 
there  is  also  a  connection  in  the  form  or  way  of  setting  forth 
the  truth,  which  it  is  important  to  notice,  as  it  shows  the 
naturalness  of  phraseology  that  at  first  sight  might  appear 
somewhat  unnatural.  The  apostle's  mind  is  occupied  with 
the  thought  of  birth,  generation,  fatherhood.  He  has  told 
us  that  when  man's  will  has  been  '  drawn  away  and  enticed ' 
by  his  lust,  then  lust,  conceiving,  '  bringeth  forth  sin ;  and  sin, 
when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death.'  This  mode  of  look- 
ing at  the  matter  is  carried  on  ;  and  thus  God  naturally  comes 
before  us  as  a  Father,  '  the  Father  of  lights,'  who  '■begat  us  with 
the  word  of  truth.' 

The  first  statement  of  the  apostle  in  his  positive  teaching 
regarding  God's  relations  to  men  is,  \hdii  ^  every  good  gift  and 
every  perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and  comet h  dozen  from  the  Father 
of  lights'  No  very  substantial  or  obvious  distinction  can  be 
drawn  between  ^ good  gift'  and  ^perfect  gift'  (or  rather,  per- 
haps, '  perfect  boon,'  for  the  words  are  different  in  the  original, 
though  as  nearly  as  may  be  synonymous).  The  apostle  wishes 
to  state  the  truth  very  emphatically  and  impressively,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  falsehood  that  evil  influences  are  from  God.  '  Nay, 
my  brethren,  every  gift  that  is  good,  every  boon  that  is  perfect, 
this  is  from  heaven  ;  but  not  what  is  evil.'  Such  seems  to  be 
the  force  of  his  words. 

H 


1 14         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James .       [ch,  i. 

The  statement  is  true,  taken  with  the  most  general  reference. 
All  the  beauty,  and  comfort,  and  joy  in  our  lives  come  from 
God  ;  and  this  as  bounties,  as  free  gifts  to  us,  the  undeserving. 
Whatever  intermediate  agencies  He  may  have  chosen  to  em- 
ploy, yet  to  Him  the  gifts  are  wholly  due ;  and  we  should 
never  rest  in  the  view  merely  of  secondary  agencies,  but  rise 
in  thought  to  the  great  Fountain  of  life  and  joy,  and  praise 
the  divine  love.  It  is  God  that  'healeth  our  diseases,  re- 
deemeth  our  lives  from  destruction,  and  satisfieth  our  mouths 
with  good  things.'  '  The  earth  is  full  of  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord.'  '  O  Lord,  Thou  preserves!  man  and  beast.  How  ex- 
cellent is  Thy  loving-kindness,  O  God  !  Therefore  the  children 
of  men  put  their  trust  under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings.' 

It  is  evident,  however,  from  the  nature  of  the  argument  on 
which  the  apostle  is  engaged,  that  he  speaks  of  God's  gifts 
here  with  special  reference  to  their  action  on  the  soul  of  man ; 
for  he  is  exhibiting  the  truth  which  stands  opposed  to  the 
error  that  God  is  the  author  of  sin.  It  is  by  no  means  im- 
probable that  the  direct  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost  were 
primarily  in  his  thoughts,  in  speaking  of  '  good  gifts'  At  least 
the  expression  would  very  naturally  suggest  to  him  (or  be 
suggested  to  him  by)  the  words  of  Jesus  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  '  If  ye,  being  -evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts 
unto  your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which 
is  in  heaven  give  good  things  to  them  that  ask  Him  ?'  (Matt. 
vii.  ii);  of  which  last  expression  the  Lord  Himself,  by  the 
form  in  which  He  repeated  the  declaration  on  another  occa- 
sion, showed  the  chief  reference  in  His  mind  to  be  to  divine 
influence  on  the  heart :  '  How  much  more  shall  your  heavenly 
Father  give  t/ic  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him?'  (Luke  xi. 
13.)  I  have  before  had  occasion  to  remark  that  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  had  evidently  made  a  peculiarly  deep  impression 
on  this  apostle,  and  exercised  great  sway  in  the  formation  of 
his  cast  of  religious  thought,  and  over  the  language  of  the 
Epistle.  In  the  verse  before  us,  then,  as  it  appears  to  me,  he 
says :  '  All  the  influences  brought  into  action  on  men's  hearts 
which  are  in  their  nature  good  and  perfect,  and  tend  to  make 


VER.  17.]  Good  Gifts  from  God.  115 

men  good  and  perfect,  all  the  enlightening  and  quickening 
dealings  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  from  God.'  -  But,  further, 
everything  that  God  has  created  may,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, exert  power  over  our  moral  nature.  All  these  things 
too,  then,  the  apostle  would  have  us  understand,  are  in  their 
original  tendency,  as  designed  by  God,  \^ood^  and  helpful  to 
man's  soul.  As  they  come  from  the  divine  hand,  they  are,  as 
regards  moral  influence,  as  well  as  in  all  other  respects,  ^per- 
fect '  in  their  kind  ;  and  if,  in  the  influence  they  actually  exert 
on  men,  there  be  anything  bad  or  imperfect,  drawing  to  sin  and 
not  to  holiness,  this  element  has  entered  from  another  source 
than  God  —  even,  as  the  apostle  has  already  told  us,  from 
man's  perverse  desires.  '  Corruption  is  in  the  world  through 
lust.''  The  harvest-field,  waving  with  golden  grain,  is  in  itself  a 
'  good  gift,'  a  '  perfect  boon,'  fitted  and  designed  to  fill  the  soul 
with  thankfulness  and  love  to  the  great  Giver,  though  the 
fertility  may  swell  the  possessor's  heart  with  sinful  pride  and 
self-confidence,  tempting  him  to  say,  'Soul,  thou  hast  much 
goods  laid  up  for  many  years  ;  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and 
be  merry.'  '  Every  gift  that  is  good,  and  every  boon  that  is 
perfect,  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of 
lights.' 

This  peculiar  name  here  given  to  God,  ^  the  Father  of  lights,' 
calls  now  for  consideration.  By  the  statement  that  'every 
good  gift  is  frojH  above' — 'from  that  world  yonder,'  as  we  in- 
stinctively conceive  the  apostle  saying,  pointing  upward — the 
thoughts  of  any  reflective  and  imaginative  person  might  very 
easily  be  carried  at  once  to  that  glorious  effulgence  of  light 
which  the  sun  is  pouring  forth  on  the  world  from  day  to 
day,  quickening  and  gladdening  all  nature,  as  both  in  itself  a 
'  good  gift '  of  God,  and  a  lively  type  or  picture  for  the  heart 
of  that  boundless  outflow  of  kindness,  that  golden  radiance 
of  blessing,  ever  streaming  forth  from  heaven  to  undeserving 
men.  To  a  Hebrew,  to  whose  warm  Eastern  imagination 
the  language  of  figure  and  symbolism  was  almost  as  natural 
as  the  plainest  prose  is  to  us,  the  thought  I  have  mentioned 
could  hardly  fail  to  occur,  remembering  as  he  did  that  every- 


1 1 6         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  fa7nes.       [ch.  i. 

where  in  his  ancient  Scriptures  light  is  the  favourite  image  for 
every  kind  of  'good  and  perfect  gift'  —  for  knowledge,  for 
hohness,  for  happiness,  for  all  excellences  of  mind  and  heart, 
for  whatever  is  most  noble,  and  beautiful,  and  precious. 
^  Light  is  sown  for  the  righteous,  and  gladness  for  the  upright 
in  heart.'  '  The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation ;  whom 
shall  I  fear?'  '  There  be  many  that  say,  Who  will  show  us  any 
good  ?  Lord,  lift  Thou  up  the  light  of  Thy  countenance  upon 
us.'  To  '  the  twelve  tribes  scattered  abroad,'  therefore,  nothing 
could  appear  more  natural  than  the  apostle's  expression, 
'  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  boon  is  from  above,  and 
cometh  down  from  the  great  Creator  of  the  lights,^ — the  grand 
primal  Fountain  of  all  that  illumines,  and  enlivens,  and  glad 
dens  in  the  universe.  The  reference  is  in  the  first  place,  no 
doubt,  to  the  material. luminaries,  particularly  the  two  great 
lights  that  God  has  set  in  the  sky — the  sun  '  to  rule  the  day,' 
and  the  moon  '  to  rule  the  night ;'  but  this  simply  as  the 
starting-point  of  thought  regarding  all  those  joys  and  excel- 
lences, those  myriad  '  good  gifts  and  perfect  boons,'  of  which 
light  is  the  type.  The  use  of  the  term  'Father^  for  'Creator' 
is  due,  as  I  have  already  explained,  to  the  figure  of  birth  or 
generation  which  runs  through  the  whole  passage,  and  which 
we  find  showing  itself  again  in  the  next  verse,  in  '  begat.'  It 
is  not  impossible  that  James  had  in  his  mind  the  words  spoken 
by  Jehovah  Himself  to  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind,  '  Hath  the 
rain  a  father.''  or  who  hath  begotten  the  drops  of  dew?'  (Job 
Xxxviii.  28.) 

In  the  words  which  follow,  '  tvith  whom  is  no  variableness^ 
neither  shadoiv  of  turning^  there  is  an  implied  contrast  be- 
tween God,  the  Creator  of  the  lights,  and  all  the  lights  He  has 
created,  material  or  spiritual.  The  '  gifts,'  which  are  '  good 
and  perfect '  as  they  come  from  Him,  are  marred  by  the  weak- 
ness and  folly  of  man ;  and  the  lights  of  the  firmament,  which 
symbolize  these,  have,  by  God's  appointment,  revolutions  and 
variations.  The  sun  is  not  always  with  us.  He  leaves  us  to 
the  gloom  of  night — a  night  at  some  seasons  longer  than  the 
day;  and  this  gloom  of  night  is  not  always  dispelled  by  the 


VER.  17-]  Good  Gifts  front  God.  117 

moon,  'walking  in  brightness:'  for  she,  too,  has  her  times  of 
darkness.  Sometimes,  also,  in  the  revolutions  of  the  earth,  and 
of  its  satellite  the  moon,  the  sun  is  eclipsed  from  us  by  the 
intervention  of  the  moon,  or  the  moon  by  the  shadow  of  the 
earth.  But  '  with  the  Father  of  lights  there  is  no  variableness, 
nor  any  shadow  frofu  turning,'' — any  shadow,  that  is  to  say, 
caused  by  revolution  ;  for  this  appears  to  be  the  meaning,  and 
not  what  the  English  words  '  neither  shadow  of  turning '  most 
readily  import,  'not  the  slightest  turning,'  'not  a  shadow  of 
change.'  The  statement  is  obviously  substantially  equivalent 
to  that  of  John,  '  God  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at 
air  (ist  Ep.  i.  5). 

We  have  here,  you  observe,  an  important  link  in  the  apostle's 
argument,  which  may  be  stated  thus  :  '  God  cannot  be  in  any 
sense'or  measure  the  author  of  sin;  for  sin  is  darkness,-^  whereas 
God  is  light,  light  that  knows  no  darkness,  no  shadow, — essen- 
tially, eternally,  immutably  light.'  He  is  'the  same  yesterday, 
and  to-day,  and  for  ever,'  the  Giver  of  '  good  and  perfect  gifts,' 
of  nothing  but '  good  and  perfect  gifts.'  Storm  and  earthquake 
have  great  ends  of  kindness  to  work  out.  Afflictions,  as  God 
designs  them,  are  among  His  choicest  blessings.  The  final 
judgments  on  the  obstinately  impenitent  are  designed  and 
needed  to  maintain  the  honour  of  the  divine  government,  and 
thus  secure  the  highest  and  everlasting  good  of  the  moral  uni- 
verse. '  Every  gift  that  is  good,  and  every  boon  that  is  perfect, 
is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights,  with 
whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  any  shadow  from  turning.' 

In  a  world  such  as  this  is — a  world  of  confusions,  of  sins,  and 
struggles,  and  sorrows — even  the  '  lights '  that  the  church  of 
God  enjoys  will  always  be  subject  to  'change'  and  '  shadow,' 
though  their  Creator  knows  none;  but  it  will  not  be  so  with 
her  always.  She  counts  Him  faithful  who  hath  promised : 
'  Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down,  neither  shall  thy  moon  with- 
draw itself :  for  the  Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting  light,  and 
the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended.' 

'  Compare  I  John  i.  6,  and  indeed  the  whole  of  the  first  part  of  that 
Epistle. 


1 1 8         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes.      [ch.  i. 


VI. 

REGENERATION. 

'  Of  His  own  will  begat  He  us  with  the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be  a 
kind  of  first-fraits  of  His  creatures.' — ^James  i.  i8. 

THIS  is  a  verse  of  very  great  interest.  The  truth  set  forth 
in  it  is  in  itself  one  of  unspeakable  importance  ;  and 
the  statement  of  it  here  has  a  special  value  for  students  of  this 
Epistle,  from  the  fact  that  it  exhibits  more  clearly  and  fully  than 
any  other  passage  what  sceptically-inclined  persons  have  often 
questioned — the  perfect  harmony  between  the  teaching  of  James 
and  that  of  the  other  apostles  respecting  the  way  of  salvation, 
the  essence  of  evangelical  truth.  The  object  James  had 
mainly  in  view  led  him  to  draw  the  attention  of  his  readers 
chiefly  to  the  fruits  of  piety  ;  here  its  roots  are  described,  very 
briefly,  but  with  marvellous  completeness  and  beauty,  and  in  a 
form  so  Pauline,  that  probably  most  persons  who  heard  the 
words  quoted  apart  from  the  context  would  look  for  them  first 
in  Romans  or  Ephesians. 

The  statement  is,  that  '  God,  the  Father  or  Originator  of  all 
enlightening  and  quickening  influences,  has  of  His  free  will 
originated  a  new  life  in  us  Christians,  by  means  of  the  word  of 
His  truth,  and  to  the  intent  that  we  might  be  a  kind  of  first- 
fruits  of  His  creatures.'  The  connection  with  the  previous 
argument  is  somewhat  on  this  wise  :  '  Consider  the  greatest  of 
all  His  good  and  perfect  gifts;  He  has  given  us  life  :  how  is 
it  conceivable  that  He,  immutable,  always  consistent,  without 
variableness  or  shadow  from  turning,  could  be  the  author  of 
death  r 

We  have  brought  before  us  in  this  verse,  then,  the  subject  of 

regeneration  or  the  new  birth,  that  great  change  of  heart  else- 

"  where  spoken  of  as  a  new  creation,  or  a  resurrection  from  the 


VER.  i8.]  RegejieratioTi:  119 

dead,  a  dying  to  sin  and  becoming  alive  to  righteousness  ;  the 
subject  which,  of  all  that  can  occupy  our  attention,  is  of  incom- 
parably the  greatest  practical  moment.  Formal  division  will 
aid  us  in  clearness  of  exposition, 

I.  The  nature  of  regeneration  is  set  forth  by  the  apostle  in 
the  words,  '  God  begat  us.' 

It  consists,  then,  in  the  origination  of  a  new  life.  For  a 
moral  creature  to  live,  according  to  the  grand  Bible  use  of  the 
word,  is  for  him  to  give  up  all  the  powers  and  capacities  that 
God  has  bestowed  upon  him  to  the  ends  for  which  God 
bestowed  them, — the  devotion  of  all  his  faculties  to  the  obey- 
ing of  God,  and  the  seeking  for  satisfaction  to  all  his  cravings  of 
happiness  in  God's  favour  and  fellowship.  If  this  be  life,  then 
certainly  observation  and  candid  self-scrutiny  will  give  to  all 
who  listen  to  their  teaching  the  same  testimony  as  that  implied 
in  the  apostle's  words, — that  by  nature  we  are  all  destitute  of 
this  life,  all  '  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,'  being  prone  to  what 
is  evil,  and  averse  to  whatever  is  in  the  highest  sense  good. 
According  to  Bible  teaching,  nothing  is  morally  good  in 
God's  sight  but  what  springs  from  love  to  Him  and  regard  for 
His  will.  What  man  calls  his  natural  goodness,  then — the 
'  good-heartedness,  good  temper,  good  humour,'  which  is  often 
found  in  many  that  care  nothing  for  religion — is  not  goodness 
before  God ;  for  it  is  but  a  product  of  indolence,  or  self- 
indulgence,  or,  at  the  best,  nervous  constitution.  'The  heart 
is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked.'  '  In 
Thy  sight  shall  no  man  living  be  justified.'  By  nature,  men 
are  spiritually  dead. 

But  Christians  have  spiritual  life.  They  have  been  'be- 
gotten' by  the  Father  of  lights — 'born  again.'  Their  views  and 
feelings  on  every  point  connected  with  the  moral  relations 
between  them  and  God  have  been  radically  changed.  They 
now  admire,  love,  trust,  and  delight  to  obey  Him  whom  for- 
merly they  dreaded,  hated,  shunned  to  think  of.  They  have 
been  '  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  their  minds,'  so  as  to 
'prove'  in  personal  experience  how  'good  and  acceptable  and 
perfect'  the  will  of  God  is.      The  desires  and  tastes  of  the* 


I20         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  Jmnes.       [ch.  i. 

soul  are  different  now  from  what  they  were  before.  In 
the  heart,  where  sensuality  or  greed  or  frivolity  held  sway, 
purity  and  seriousness  and  noble  aims  now  reign ;  and 
out  of  the  purified  heart  are  pure  and  holy  issues  of  life. 
Many  objects  of  former  affection  are  loved  still,  but  for 
new  reasons  substituted  or  added,  and  with  new  wishes  re- 
garding them.  Thus,  to  the  natural  instinct  of  parental 
love  now  conjoins  itself,  as  the  ruling  element,  a  tender  de- 
votedness  and  watchful  anxiety  for  the  spiritual  interests  oi 
those  regarding  whom  Jesus  is  now  heard  saying  to  father  and 
mother,  'Feed  my  lambs.'  Many  objects  which  formerly 
engaged  interest  engage  it  no  more,  or  in  a  greatly  lessened 
degree.  Many  things  that  were  before  looked  at  with  satis- 
faction, or  pursued  with  eagerness,  now  excite  loathing  and 
horror.  Companions  that  were  merely  hearty,  jovial  men  of 
the  world,  are  cherished  companions  no  longer,  and  occasional 
association  with  them  brings  sadness  rather  than  satisfaction; 
excess  now  and  again  in  some  form  of  animal  enjoyment, 
which  was  once  deemed  but  a  trifle,  is  now  seen  to  be  sin 
and  abomination  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  looked  upon  with 
disgust ;  the  study  of  the  Bible  has  now  a  genuine  and  deep 
interest ;  prayer  is  felt  to  be  pleasant,  because  it  is  a  real 
approach  of  spirit  to  God ;  and  work  done  for  the  Saviour, 
be  it  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  wilds  of  Africa,  or  quietly 
handing  in  a  tract  from  door  to  door  at  home,  is  felt  to  be 
reasonable  and  sweet.  Our  passing  into  this  new  state  of 
thought  and  feeling  is  regeneration. 

You  will  observe,  then,  that,  being  the  introduction  of  a  new 
life,  a  new  life  for  the  whole  man,  spirit,  soul,  and  body,  re- 
generation is  plainly  a  radical  change.  The  heart  is  '  directed 
into  the  love  of  God.'  The  fountain  is  purified,  that  by  all 
the  channels  of  the  nature  a  pellucid  stream  of  holiness  may 
be  carried  throughout  the  whole  being,  to  refresh  and  beautify. 
A  change  of  external  conduct,  therefore,  however  striking  and 
pleasant,  is  not,  taken  by  itself,  the  'great  change.'  Reforma- 
tion, in  our  ordinary  use  of  the  term,  does  not  necessarily  prove 
regeneration.     When  a  drunkard  or  a  licentious  man  becomes 


VER.  1 8.]  Regeneralion.  121 

sober,  chaste,  industrious,  a  good  citizen,  a  kind  father  or  son 
or  friend,  this  is  an  admirable  change,  a  change  for  which  the 
man  deserves  high  respect,  and  which  gives  very  good  ground 
for  hope  that  he  has  been  '  bom  again.'  Yet  it  may  be  the 
result  of  influences  not  at  all  of  a  religious  kind,  but  belonging 
strictly  to  this  world.  Reformation  proves  regeneration,  only 
where  it  springs  from  regard  to  the  will  of  God,  loved  as  a 
pardoning  God  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Being  a  radical  change,  regeneration  is  altogether  distinct 
from  a  respectable  development  of  natural  character.  We  often 
see  a  boy,  reared  by  discreet,  especially  Christian  parents, 
ripening  under  kind  providential  influences  into  a  useful  man, 
an  honoured  member  of  society.  As  he  grows,  he  '  puts  away 
childish  things.'  Manly  thought  awakens  manly  sensibility ; 
he  acquires  some  sense  of  the  seriousness  of  life,  as  a  scene 
of  difficulty  and  conflict ;  emergencies  rouse  up  slumbering 
energies ;  and  a  certain  dignity  of  character  is  formed,  which 
commands  respect.  But  if  this  be  all,  then  there  is  here  no 
regeneration.  There  may  be  in  an  unregenerate  man  comely 
graces,  refined  sensibilities,  magnanimous  impulses,  and  even 
some  interest  in  religion.  '  One  thing  is  needful  /  and  it  is 
possible  to  have  very  many  things  that  are  beautiful  and 
pleasant,  and  yet  not  to  '  choose  that  good  part.'  A  certain 
ruler  came  to  Jesus,  and,  kneeling,  '  asked  Him,  Good  Master, 
what  shall  I  do  that  I  may  inherit  eternal  life  ?  And  Jesus  said 
unto  him.  Thou  knowest  the  commandments,  Do  not  commit 
adultery.  Do  not  kill,  Do  not  steal.  Do  not  bear  false  wit- 
ness. Defraud  not.  Honour  thy  father  and  mother.  And  he 
answered  and  said  unto  Him,  Master,  all  these  have  I  observed 
from  my  youth.  Then  Jesus,  beholding  him,  loved  him,  and 
said  unto  him,  One  thing  thou  lackest :  go  thy  way,  sell  what- 
soever thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have 
treasure  in  heaven  :  and  come,  take  up  the  cross,  and  follow 
Me.  And  he  was  sad  at  that  saying,  and  went  away  grieved, 
for  he  had  great  possessions.'  How  much  must  have  been 
beautiful  in  this  young  man's  character,  when  Jesus  'loved 
him!'    And  yet  he  was  not  regenerate.     He  was  'grieved,' — 


122         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  l 

'very  sorrowful;'  hut  he  '■went  away:''  he  could  not  give 
up  all  for  Christ  —  could  not  take  the  will  of  God  as  his 
rule  in  everything.  '  One  thing  he  lacked,'  but  that  was  the 
'  one  thing  needful.'  His  attractiveness  of  character  was  the 
work  of  God,  indeed,  (for  from  Him  come  all  things  that  are 
beautiful  and  noble — '  every  good  gift,')  but  not  by  way  of 
regeneration  :  it  was  only  a  fair  flower  springing  from  the 
root  of  nature,  under  peculiarly  favourable  circumstances  in 
divine  providence,  and  'like  the  flower  of  the  grass'  to  pass 
away.  Now  regeneration  is  the  introduction  of  a  new  life,  a 
life  imperishable,  everlasting. 

And  this  life  is  that  of  children  of  God.  This  most  wonder- 
ful and  precious  truth  also  is  evidently  involved  in  the  apostle's 
declaration  that  '  God  begat  us.'  In  a  true  sense  all  mankind 
are  children  of  God,  as  being  His  moral  creatures,  made  by 
Him  in  His  own  image,  and  continually  sustained  by  His  care 
and  goodness.  '  As  certain  even  of  the  heathen  poets  have 
said,  We  are  His  offspring.'  But,  alas,  we  have  not  remained 
in  our  home  ;  we  have  wandered  away  into  the  '  far  country ' 
of  sin,  and  have  striven  to  forget  our  Father's  house  and  our 
Father's  love.  Yet  that  love  yearned  over  the  prodigals ;  and 
His  grace  in  Christ  Jesus  raises  believers  to  a  new  and  blessed 
relation  of  sonship,  in  which  His  covenant  love  secures  the 
eternal  continuance  of  a  filial  spirit,  and  thus  that  we  shall 
abide  in  our  Father's  house  for  ever.  '  As  many  as  received 
Jesus,  to  them  gave  He  power  to  become  sons  of  God,  even  to 
them  that  believe  on  His  name.'  '  Come  out  from  among  the 
wicked,  and  be  ye  separate,  saith  the  Lord,  and  touch  not 
the  unclean  thing ;  and  I  will  receive  you,  and  will  be  a 
Father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters, 
saith  the  Lord  Almighty.'  How  illustrious  is  this  dignity,  my 
brethren  !  When  Cowper,  in  his  exquisite  '  Lines  on  receiving 
his  Mother's  Picture,'  says, 

'  My  boast  is  not  that  I  deduce  my  birth 
From  loins  enthroned  and  rulers  of  the  earth, 
But  higher  far  my  proud  pretensions  rise, 
The  child  of  parents  passed  into  the  skies  ; ' 


VER.  1 8.]  Regeneration.  123 

we  feel  that  there  is  here  shown  a  true  appreciation  of  essential 
worth  and  dignity.  If  the  richest  spring  of  honour,  then,  con- 
nected with  earthly  parentage  be  to  be  descended  from  those 
whose  characters  bore  the  charm  of  Christian  goodness,  how 
ineffable  the  dignity  must  be  to  be  His  children,  of  whose 
infinite  radiance  of  holy  beauty  the  highest  moral  loveliness  of 
earth  is  but  a  faint  reflection  !  '  Behold  what  manner  of  love 
the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called 
the  sons  of  God  !' 

II.  The  apostle  exhibits  to  us  the  instrumentality  of  regene- 
ration, in  the  statement  that  '  God  begat  us  with  the  zvord  of 
truth'  The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ — the  Bible,  of  which  the 
gospel  is  the  substance — is  emphatically  and  by  pre-eminence 
'  the  word  of  truth,'  '  to  which  whatever  is  contrary  is  imposture, 
and  whatever  is  compared  to  it  insignificant.'^  Now  the  con- 
stant statem.ent  of  Scripture  is,  that  the  new  life  is  produced 
by  this  '  word  of  truth,'  understood  and  believed.  Thus  Peter 
tells  us  that  men  are  '  born  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but 
of  incorruptible,  by  the  word  of  God,  which  liveth  and  abideth 
for  ever,  the  word  which  by  the  gospel  is  preached  unto  you,' 
and  that  it  is  '  by  God's  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises' 
that  we  '  become  partakers  of  the  divine  nature ;'  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Himself  says,  '  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you, 
they  are  spirit,  and  they  are  life.'  Wilful  ignorance,  wilful 
misconception  of  the  divine  character,  and  our  own,  and  the 
relations  in  which  we  stand  to  God, — this  is  the  immediate 
spring  of  sinful  feeling  and  action.  Wilful  ignorance  of  God 
is  described  by  the  Apostle  Paul  as  one  great  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  those  who  shall  finally  be  condemned,  '  when 
the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven,  with  His  mighty 
angels,  in  flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  thetn  that  know  not 
God.''  The  unregenerate  man  shrinks  from  the  thought  of 
God,  a  living,  observing,  judging  God.  In  all  his  difficulties 
and  sorrows  he  would  seek  refuge  anywhere  rather  than  in  the 
counsel  and  help  of  God,  because  he  does  not  know  Him  to 
be  '  merciful,  and  gracious,  and  long-suffering;'  but  having  be- 
1  Robert  Hall. 


1 24         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 

come  '  vain  in  his  imaginations,  with  his  foolish  heart  darkened,' 
deems  Him  to  be  a  cold  and  austere  being,  whom  it  is  impos- 
sible to  please  or  to  love.  Or  perhaps,  shrinking  as  really 
from  the  thought  of  the  sin-hating  Being  that  the  instincts 
of  his  conscience  assure  him  God  in  truth  is,  he  succeeds  in 
half-persuading  himself  that  he  has  to  do  with  a  God  weakly- 
placable,  like  those  many  earthly  parents  whose  self-indulgent, 
foolish  fondness  is  so  often  proved  by  results  to  be  in  reality 
terribly  cruel.  Now,  as  from  ignorance  of  God  springs  sin, 
with  its  constant  fruits,  sorrow  and  fear,  so  from  the  knowledge 
of  God  arise  holiness  and  joy,  life  and  godliness.  As  to  '  know 
not  God'  necessarily  involves  to  be  wicked  and  to  be  unhappy, 
which  are  the  essential  elements  of  death,  so  '  this  is  life 
eternal,  to  know  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
He  hath  sent.'  Such  knowledge  can  be  obtained  only  through 
the  faith  of  the  gospel,  a  hearty  acceptance  of  God's  testimony 
concerning  Himself  as  gracious  in  Jesus  Christ.  When  a  man 
believes  the  *  word  of  truth,'  it  convinces  him  of  sin  :  for  no 
man,  looking  at  his  character  in  the  '  light  of  God,'  can  help 
crying  out,  '  Unclean,  unclean  !'  '  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a 
sinner  !'  His  suspicion  and  dread  of  God,  too,  which  afore- 
time barred  his  heart  against  even  honest  consideration  of  the 
divine  claims  on  his  service,  are  removed  by  the  gospel,  telling 
us  that  in  Christ  He  is  ready  to  '  receive  us  graciously,'  to  guide 
and  watch  over  us  with  Fatherly  love,  and  to  make  us  happy 
in  His  presence  for  evermore.  The  icy  barriers  of  suspicion 
are  melted  by  the  rays  of  the  sun  of  righteousness,  and  the 
streams  of  filial  affection  ripple  joyously  on  towards  God. 
Thus  through  the  'word  of  truth'  we  enter  into  spintual 
life. 

III.  We  have  set  before  us  the  Author  of  regeneration,  the 
Origi7iator  of  the  new  life,  in  the  apostle's  statement  that  '  He 
{the  Father  of  lights)  begat  us  with  the  word  of  truth.'  This 
indicates  not  merely  that  God  gave  us  the  Bible,  the  '  word  of 
truth,'  itself  *  a  good  and  perfect  gift,'  but  also  that  it  is  He 
who,  by  an  influence  graciously  exerted  on  the  soul,  leads  men 
to  believe  it.     The  communication  of  truth  in  Scripture  is  full 


VER.  iS.]  Regefieratio7i.  125  . 

and  clear,  fitted  to  convince  and  satisfy  a  candid  mind  ;  but  by 
nature  our  souls,  instead  of  being  candid,  are  so  beclouded  by 
wilful  prejudice,  that,  left  to  ourselves,  no  one  of  us  would 
with  seriousness  and  openness  of  heart  consider  the  truth.  We 
have  mental  faculties  sufficient  to  apprehend  the  meaning  of 
the  Bible  and  the  force  of  its  evidence,  but  the  alienated  will 
refuses  to  bring  these  freely  into  play  on  the  subject.  The 
mental  eye  could  see,  but  amid  sunlight  streaming  all  around 
the  sinner  obstinately  keeps  his  eyes  closed.  But  God  by  His 
action  on  the  will  induces  men  to  open  their  eyes,  and  thus 
see  the  truth  and  feel  its  force.  Thus  He  regenerates.  His 
spiritual  children  are  '  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the 
flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.'  '  God,  who  is  rich 
in  mercy,  hath  quickened  us'  (made  us  live)  '  together  with 
Christ ;  for  by  grace  are  we  saved,  through  faith,  and  that  not 
of  ourselves  :  it  is  the  gift  of  God.' 

And  this  divine  action  on  the  soul  is  through  the  Holy 
Spirit.  In  the  blessed  economy  of  grace,  the  Father  is  set 
forth  as  originating  the  plan  of  redemption  ;  whilst  the  Spirit 
applies  the  blessings  purchased  by  the  Son.  Our  deliverance 
is  of  the  Father,  by  the  Son,  through  the  Spirit.  The  Holy 
Ghost  is  the  grand  immediate  agent  in  regeneration.  Through 
Him  we  are  '  renewed  in  the  whole  man  after  the  image  of 
God.'  To  Him  are  due  alike  the  beginning  and  the  growth  of 
spiritual  life.  As  with  the  old  creation,  so  with  the  new  :  but 
that  He  '  breathes  into  man  the  breath  of  life,'  our  souls  would 
continue  utterly  torpid  and  insensate,  '  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins.'  It  is  He  that  clears  away  the  mists  of  prejudice,  that 
impels  to  attention  to  the  truth,  that  bends  the  stubborn  heart, 
and  turns  it  from  iniquity.  Blessing  the  means  of  grace.  He 
makes  the  good  seed  of  the  word  germinate,  waters  the  tender 
plant  continually  with  the  genial  rain  of  His  heavenly  influ- 
ences, and  makes  it  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  godliness  and  peace. 
Or,  according  to  another  scriptural  representation,  God's  people 
are  '  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost,'  in  which  '  He  dwells,' — not 
fitfully,  as  an  uncertain  lodger,  now  here,  now  there,  but  as  in  a 
home  which  He  delights  to  make  beautiful  and  happy. 


126         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.       [ch,  i. 

Regeneration,  then,  is  of  God,  '  the  Father  of  lights,'  through 
His  Spirit. 

IV.  The  tdtimate  cause  of  regeneration -is  exhibited  in  the 
words,  '  Of  His  own  will  begat  He  us.'  It  is  from  spontaneous 
kindness  that  God  originates  this  new  life.  If  we  were  to  trace 
the  history  of  kind  deeds  among  men,  we  should  often  find 
that  the  persons  who  perform  them  receive  the  impulse  to  some 
extent  from  others.  But  it  cannot  be  so  with  God.  'Who 
hath  directed  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  or  being  His  counsellor 
hath  taught  Him?'  And  there  is  in  us  by  nature  nothing  to 
attract  the  affectionate  interest  of  a  holy  Being  ;  everything  to 
avert  it.  Death  ^q  \s3nq  earned  2.%  tuages ;  'eternal  life  is  the 
gift  of  God,'  the  gift  of  free  grace.  '  Not  by  works  of  right- 
eousness which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  His  mercy 
God  saves  us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.'  '  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  bless- 
ings in  heavenly  places  in  Christ,  according  as  He  hath  chosen 
us  in  Him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world :  having  pre- 
destinated us  unto  the  adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
Himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  His  will:'  'That, 
according  as  it  is  written,  He  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in  the 
Lord.' 

The  words  '  of  His  own  will '  have,  as  you  will  observe,  a 
special  emphasis  from  their  position  ;  and  this  corresponds  to 
the  original.  The  apostle  would  have  us  see  that  a  portion  of 
the  force  of  his  argument  is  found  here.  The  argument  is  this  : 
'  God  cannot  be  in  any  sense  or  degree  the  author  of  sin,  for 
from  Him  come  good  gifts,  and  nothing  but  good  gifts.  Look 
in  particular  at  the  most  precious  blessing  any  of  us  have  or 
can  have — spiritual  life  :  that  is  from  God,  and  given  in  spon- 
taneous kindness,  proving  it  to  belong  to  the  very  nature  of  God 
to  do  good.  How  is  it  conceivable,  then,  that  He  should  be 
the  author  of  spiritual  death?' 

V.  The  apostle  brings  before  us  God^s  pjirfose  in  regenera- 
tion, in  the  words,  '  Of  His  own  will  begat  He  us,  that  we 
should  be  a  kind  of  first  fruits  of  His  creatures.^     By  some  expo- 


VER.  18.]  Regenei^ation.  127 

sitors  the  reference  of  this  '7w'  is  supposed  to  be  exdusively 
to  the  first  Christians — those  of  the  age  when  James  wrote  ; 
and  some  have  been  disposed  to  Hmit  it  to  but  a  portion  of 
these, — namely,  the  primitive  Javish  Christians,  because  the 
message  of  glad  tidings  was  '  to  the  Jew  first.'  Now,  beyond 
doubt,  a  certain  fulness  and  specialty  of  significance  are  thus 
gained  for  the  word  'first-fruits;'  yet  I  cannot  but  think  that, 
had  such  a  limited  reference  of  the  clause  been  intended  by 
the  apostle,  the  limitation  would  have  been  marked  in  some 
way,  especially  seeing  that  the  words  occur  at  the  close  of  a 
paragraph  exhibiting  principles  of  universal  validity  and  im- 
l^ortance.  Besides,  if  the  chronological  position  in  the  history 
of  God's  church  of  certain  believers  be  thought  of  as  consti- 
tuting them  '  first-fruits  of  His  creatures,'  it  would  seem  that 
Abel  and  Enoch  and  the  other  faithful  antediluvians  have  this 
dignity.  It  appears  to  me  altogether  unnatural  to  regard  the 
'■■we''  as  having  any  other  sense  than  'believers  in  Christ' 
generally ;  and  taking  this  reference,  we  shall  find  the  apostle's 
statement  rich  in  precious  teaching. 

The  grand  ultimate  purpose  of  all  God's  doings — the  end 
in  which  is  summed  up  all  good — is  '  the  praise  of  His  glory.' 
That  set  forth  here  is  a  subordinate  purpose,  and  one  the 
statement  of  which  was  eminently  fitted  to  touch  and  impress 
the  apostle's  readers.  In  the  Jewish  ceremonial  law — 'a 
shadow  of  good  things  to  come ' — it  was  enjoined  that  the 
first-fruits  of  the  ground  should  be  taken  to  the  tabernacle  or 
temple,  and  there  presented  by  the  priest  as  an  offering  to 
God.  *  Thou  shalt  take  of  the  first  of  all  the  fruit  of  the  earth, 
which  thou  shalt  bring  of  thy  land  that  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth 
thee,  and  shalt  put  it  in  a  basket,  and  shalt  go  unto  the  place 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  choose  to  place  His  name  there. 
And  the  priest  shall  take  the  basket  out  of  thine  hand,  and  set 
it  down  before  the  altar  of  the  Lord  thy  God.  And  thou  shalt 
speak  and  say  before  the  Lord  thy  God,  A  Syrian  ready  to 
perish  was  my  father ;  and  he  went  down  into  Egypt,  and  so- 
journed there  with  a  few,  and  became  there  a  nation,  great, 
mighty,  and  populous :  and  the  Egyptians  evil  entreated  us, 


128         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes.       [ch.  i. 

and  afflicted  us,  and  laid  upon  us  hard  bondage  :  and  when 
we  cried  unto  the  Lord  God  of  our  fathers,  the  Lord  heard  our 
voice,  and  looked  on  our  affliction,  and  our  labour,  and  our 
oppression  :  and  He  hath  brought  us  into  this  place,  and  hath 
given  us  this  land,  even  a  land  that  floweth  with  milk  and 
honey :  and  now,  behold,  I  have  brought  the  first-fruits  of  the 
land  which  Thou,  O  Lord,  hast  given  me.  And  thou  shaft 
set  it  before  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  worship  before  the  Lord 
thy  God'  (Deut.  xxvi.  2,  4-7,  9,  10),  The  meaning  of  this 
usage  was  an  acknowledgment  that  all  the  harvest  was  God's ; 
and,  more  widely,  that  '  the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  ful- 
ness thereof.'  Even  so,  Christians  are  regenerated,  and  thus 
spiritually  brought  nigh  to  God,  '  presented '  (speaking  in 
Scripture  phrase)  by  God  'to  Himself,'^  as  representing  all 
His  creatures,  which  are  His  by  every  right,  though  His  sinful 
moral  creatures  refuse  to  acknowledge  His  right.  In  this 
description  of  Christians  there  are  thus  imphed,  as  you  ob- 
serve, two  things  in  particular.  One  is  special  consecration ; 
and  this,  as  you  know,  by  cheerful,  loving  self-surrender.  The 
regenerate,  impelled  by  the  mercies  of  God,  'present  their 
bodies  living  sacrifices,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God,'  feeling 
that  this  is  '  their  reasonable  service.'  The  other  is  special 
dignity  and  precioiisness,  such  as  was  always  considered  to 
attach  to  the  first-fruits,  from  the  close  relation  into  which 
they  came  to  God.  The  spiritual  Israel  are  'the  Lord's 
portion,'  '  a  peculiar  treasure  unto  Him,'  '  kings  and  priests 
unto  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  Our 
dignity  is  higher  even  than  that  of  angels,  through  our  peculiar 
union  to  Christ — through  the  fact  that  One  in  our  nature  sways 
the  sceptre  of  the  universe.  Neither  the  measure  of  self-con- 
secration nor  the  manifestation  of  dignity  is  complete  here 
below ;  but  by  and  by  will  be  attained  the  fulness  of  both, 
when  '  the  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand  shall  sing  the 
new  song  before  the  throne.'  '  These,'  says  he  who  saw  the 
visions  of  the  Lord  in  Patmos,  '  are  they  which  follow  the 
Lamb  whithersoever  He  goeth ;  these  were  redeemed  from 
^  Eph.  V.  27;  compare  Col.  i.  22,  Jude  24. 


VER.  1 8.]  Regeneration.  129 

among    men,    being    the  first-fruits    unto    God   and   to   the 
Lamb.' 

The  figure  here  may  be  looked  at  also  in  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent aspect.  I  have  observed  that  God  'presents'  the  re- 
generate 'to  Himself  As  the  great  Husbandman — if  I  may 
so  speak — He  brings  these  first-fruits  to  the  temple  of  the 
glory  of  His  own  grace.  So,  as  a  Jewish  farmer  recognised 
in  the  sheaf  which  he  brought  to  God  a  cheering  pledge  of  the 
rich  harvest  that,  through  the  divine  kindness,  would  fill  his 
garners,  similarly  God  looks  w-ith  complacent  joy  on  the  re- 
generate as  the  first-fruits  of  a  great  harvest  to  come  •}  and  this 
not  of  men  only,  but  of  all  the  '  creatures '  of  God.  The  re- 
ference of  James's  word  ''creatures''  cannot  naturally  be  taken 
as  less  wide  than  that  of  'creature,'  or,  more  exactly,  'crea- 
tion,' in  the  familiar  passage  of  Paul :  '  For  the  earnest  expec- 
tation of  the  creature  waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons 
of  God.  For  the  creature  was  made  subject  to  vanity,  not 
willingly,  but  by  reason  of  Him  who  hath  subjected  the  same 
in  hope ;  because  the  creature  itself  also  shall  be  delivered 
from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of 
the  children  of  God.  For  we  know  that  the  whole  creation 
groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until  now '  (Rom.  viii. 
19-22).  What  the  meaning  of  these  wonderful  words  is,  or 
of  James's,  which  manifestly  set  forth  the  same  truth  in  a 
condensed  form,  we  can  but  very  faintly  conjecture.  But  they 
plainly  point  to  the  'new  heavens  and  new  earth,  wherein 
shall  dwell  righteousness,'  and  intimate  that  at  '  the  rrtanifesta- 
tion  of  the  sons  of  God,'  all  nature,  according  to  its  capabili- 
ties, will  be  invested  with  beauty  and  filled  with  sympathetic 
joy.  Paradise  will  be  restored.  From  every  creature  of  God 
all  trace  of  the  curse  will  be  removed,  except  from  those  moral 
creatures  who,  by  obstinate  unbelief,  refused  to  have  it  taken 
away,  and  chose  death  rather  than  life. 

^  This  particular  force  of  the  figure  had  of  course  a  special  fulness  in  the 
first  age  of  the  church,  yet  it  holds  amply  still ;  and,  seeing  that  the  harvest 
is  in  some  way  to  include  the  lower  creation  also,  will  hold  till  the  con- 
summation of  all  things. 

I 


130         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  i. 

You  see  now,  brethren,  the  conckisiveness,  the  irresistible 
force,  of  the  apostle's  argument :  '  Since  the  purpose  of  God 
is  to  bring  His  creatures  into  joy  and  beauty,  and  ye  Christians 
have,  through  His  spontaneous  kindness,  received  a  new  life, 
and  that  the  life  of  His  children,  to  the  intent  that  ye  might 
be  the  first-fruits  of  His  ransomed  creation, — can  anything  be 
conceived  more  foolish  and  blasphemous  than  to  count  Him 
the  author  of  sin,  which  is  the  spring  of  wretchedness  and 
death  ?' 


VERS.  1 9-2 1 .]  Receiving  the  Ingrafted  Word.      1 3 1 


VII. 

RECEIVING  THE  INGRAFTED  WORD. 

'  Wherefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to 
speak,  slow  to  wrath  :  20  For  the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  the 
righteousness  of  God.  21  Wherefore  lay  apart  all  filthiness  and 
superfluity  of  naughtiness,  and  receive  with  meekness  the  ingrafted 
word,  which  is  able  to  save  your  souls.' — ^James  i.  19-21. 

THESE  verses  introduce  a  new  subject, — one,  however, 
into  which  the  last  statement  of  the  previous  paragraph 
naturally  leads,  as  the  writer  indicates  by  his  '  Wherefore'  '  The 
word  of  truth,'  as  we  have  seen,  is  the  instrument  of  regenera- 
tion ;  by  this  the  new  life  is  begun :  by  this  also  it  is  (so  the 
thought  of  the  apostle,  and,  as  he  knows,  of  all  his  intelligent 
readers,  advances)  that  Christians  ^r^a/  in  wisdom  and  holiness. 
Our  Lord  Himself  tells  us  that  it  is  through  '  the  truth '  we 
are  '  sanctified,'  through  '  the  truth  '  that  we  are  '  made  free,' 
emancipated  from  the  bondage  of  guilty  fears  and  of  depraved 
tendencies.  '  If  you  wish,  then,'  the  apostle  proceeds  in  the 
paragraph  on  the  consideration  of  which  we  now  enter,  '  to 
attain  to  the  maturity  of  Christian  manhood,  to  the  measure 
of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ  (and  it  belongs  to  the 
very  essence  of  genuine  religion  to  be  dissatisfied  with  present 
attainments,  and  reach  forth  towards  higher,  even  towards 
complete  spiritual  likeness  to  the  Lord),  then,  with  such  strong 
longings  as  new-born  babes  have  for  their  natural  sustenance, 
desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby ; 
for  in  no  other  way  can  ye  grow.  Watch  and  pray,  too,  that 
everything  in  your  state  of  heart  which  is  fitted  to  obstruct 
your  seeing  truth  or  feeling  its  force  may  be  removed,  so  that 
with  godly  simplicity  you  may  wait  on  the  Lord,  and  listen  to 
His  word.'    Such  appears  to  be  the  substance  of  the  paragraph. 


1^2 


Lechtres  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.      [ch.  i. 


The  line  of  thought  is  very  similar  to  that  found  in  the  close 
of  the  first  and  beginning  of  the  second  chapter  of  Peter's  First 
Epistle. 

'  Wherefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  let  ez'ery  man  be  stoift  to 
hear.'  This  injunction,  and  the  others  with  which  it  stands 
connected,  the  apostle  would  have  us  understand,  are  intended 
by  him  for  all  members  of  the  Christian  society — for  those  of 
considerable  attainments  in  knowledge  and  strength  of  cha- 
racter, as  well  as  for  the  ignorant  and  immature.  '  Every  man ' 
is  to  be  '  swift  to  hear'—tQz.dy  and  eager  to  avail  himself  of 
all  opportunities  of  increasing  his  acquaintance  with  the  'word 
of  truth.'  The  reference  of  the  apostle  is,  of  course,  to  every 
mode  of  obtaining  such  knowledge.  In  his  days,  and  for  many 
centuries  after,  so  long  as  books  could  be  multiplied  only  by 
the  slow  and  laborious  process  of  transcription,  and  were  con- 
sequently very  costly,  the  ear  was,  in  the  case  of  all  except  a 
very  few,  the  sole  avenue  by  which  the  knowledge  and  thoughts 
of  others  entered  the  mind.  In  philosophy,  politics,  religion, 
or  any  other  sphere  of  thought,  instruction  was  almost  exclu- 
sively oral ;  and  hence  such  an  exhortation  as  that  of  the 
apostle  here,  to  study  truth,  to  seek  instruction,  most  naturally 
assumed  the  form  of  an  injunction  to  '■hear.''  In  our  time, 
through  the  marvellous  and  most  blessed  agency  of  the  printing 
press,  Bibles  abound,  and  can  be  procured  at  such  a  trifling 
cost,  that  they  are  within  the  reach  of  the  very  poorest  of  the 
people.  On  every  subject,  too,  there  are  books  in  great 
numbers,  and  but  few  among  us  cannot  read.  Instruction 
from  books  is  therefore  very  largely  open  to  us;  and  to  it 
also  the  spirit  of  the  apostle's  injunction  extends,  its  force 
plainly  being,  '  Let  every  man  be  eager  to  grow,  by  every 
means,  in  knowledge  of  the  truth.' 

As  I  have  already  shown  in  the  introductory  paragraph  of 
the  lecture,  it  is  clear  from  the  connection  that  we  are  to  fill 
up  the  terms  of  the  injunction  with  'the  Avord  of  truth,'  as  the 
thing  to  be  'heard'  or  studied.  There  are  many  things  in 
which  we  act  wisely  in  being  sloiu  to  hear :  there  is  much  in 
current  talk  and  literature  which  is  profane,  impure,  and  false ; 


VER.  19-]    Receiving  the  Ingrafted  Word.  133 

much,  too,  that  is  utterly  trifling  and  unprofitable, — no  more 
fitted  to  benefit  either  head  or  heart  than  the  shouting  of  the 
Ephesian  mob,  when  'all  with  one  voice  about  the  space  of 
two  hours  cried  out,  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians.'  As  far 
as  possible,  my  brethren  (and  I  appeal  especially  to  the  young, 
who  in  this  matter  are  under  peculiarly  strong  temptations), 
let  us  avoid — unless  when,  from  particular  circumstances,  duty 
appears  clearly  to  call  us  to  it — reading  or  listening  to  what  is 
opposed  to  sound  religion  or  good  morals.  Even  persons  who, 
on  the  whole,  are  settled  in  right  principles,  are  liable  to  serious 
injury  from  influences  of  this  kind ;  and  vast  multitudes  who, 
from  the  peaceful  enclosure  of  a  quiet  and  orderly  childhood's 
home,  have  gone  forth  into  the  desert  of  a  wild  and  wicked 
life,  could  trace  the  beginning  of  their  deplorable  wanderings 
to  their  being  '  swift  to  hear '  what  they  knew  their  parents 
and  their  God  disapproved.  And  with  regard  to  talk  and 
literature  that  is  simply  light,  not  wicked,  let  us  remember  that 
life  is  too  short,  and  has  too  much  that  claims  to  be  learned 
and  to  be  done  in  it,,  to  justify  our  giving  a  very  large  portion 
of  it  to  what  at  the  best,  in  our  expressive  popular  phrase, 
can  but  '  kill  time.'  Those  whom  God  has  taught  the  value 
of  time  feel  that  it  has  litde  need  to  be  'killed  :'  it  goes  away 
from  us  all  too  quickly  without  that.  The  wise  Apostle  Paul 
would  have  us  '  7-edcem  the  time ' — buy  it  back  from  worldliness 
and  indolence  at  the  cost  of  self-sacrifice. 

The  best  way  to  keep  ourselves  right  in  these  respects  is  to 
be  '  swift  to  hear '  '  the  good  word  of  God,'  anxious  through 
the  diligent  use  of  all  our  opportunities  to  grow  in  the  know- 
ledge of  divine  truth.  This  implies  having  the  ear  open  to  the 
voice  of  creation  and  providence,  telling  us  of  God's  wisdom, 
and  power,  and  goodness.  The  Christian  alone  can  study 
nature  and  history  to  the  highest  ends  (for  '  the  secret  of  the 
Lord,'  as  Creator  and  Ruler  as  well  as  Saviour,  '  is  with  them 
that  fear  Him ') ;  and  every  judicious  believer  will,  so  far  as 
his  opportunities  permit,  give  heed,  as  '  day  unto  day  uttereth 
speech,  and  night  unto  night  showeth  knowledge.'  He  who 
gives  obedience  to  the  apostle's   precept  will  read  the  Bible 


1 34         Lee  hires  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 

diligently  too  ;  and  this  with  the  earnest  purpose  of  one  who 
knows  that  he  is  digging  where  hidden  treasure  lies,  and  with 
the  reverence  and  affectionate  interest  of  one  who  in  the  writ- 
ten word  hears  God's  voice,  '  a  voice  from  the  excellent  glory,' 
addressing  to  him  personally  a  message  of  warning  and  of 
peace.  James's  appeal  calls  upon  us  also  to  give  regular 
attendance  at  the  house  of  God.  No  cause  should  keep  us  at 
home  which  we  should  be  afraid  to  plead  before  Him  ;  and, 
in  hearing  a  discourse  on  Bible  truth,  let  us  brace  ourselves  up 
to  definite  purpose-like  listening,  with  a  real  wish  to  grow  in 
knowledge  and  in  grace.  The  Bible  lying  unused  on  the  shelf 
from  one  Lord's  day  to  another,  the  wilful  half-day's  or  occa- 
sional whole  day's  absence  from  public  worship,  the  wandering 
eye  or  habitual  sleepiness  in  the  sanctuary  in  persons  whose 
eye  is  always  bright  and  their  mind  alert  in  the  shop  or  the 
counting-house, — the  commonness  of  these  things  among  us, 
my  brethren,  gives  very  saddening  evidence  that  it  is  possible 
for  men  and  women  to  bear  the  Christian  name,  and  yet  be 
very  far  from  '■  swift  ^  to  hear  that  truth  which,  if  their  pro- 
fession mean  anything,  it  declares  that  they  believe  to  be  the 
only  sustenance  of  the  life  of  their  souls. 

'  Slow  to  speak,'  continues  the  apostle.  It  is  an  old  saying, 
that  '  many  a  man  has  had  to  repent  of  speaking,  but  never 
one  of  holding  his  peace.'  There  is  very  much  truth  in  this ; 
and  yet,  no  doubt,  like  many  such  terse  proverbial  expressions 
of  human  experience,  it  is  not  to  be  taken  in  all  its  breadth. 
Beyond  question,  far  more  ground  for  repentance  has  been 
given  by  speech  than  by  silence ;  yet  sometimes  a  right- 
minded  man  finds  much  cause  for  regret  that  he  failed  at 
the  proper  moment  to  say  a  needed  word  of  counsel,  or  com- 
fort, or  reproof.  For  to  speak  '  the  word  of  truth '  seasonably 
and  lovingly,  as  God  gives  opportunity,  to  instruct  '  the  igno- 
rant and  them  that  are  out  of  the  way,'  and  stimulate  and  con- 
sole and  strengthen  Christian  brethren, — this  is  a  sacred  duty. 
'  Let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come.'  'Exhort  one  another  daily, 
while  it  is  called  to-day,  lest  any  of  you  be  hardened  through 
the  deceitfulness  of  sin.'     In  the  dark  days  of  ancient  Israel, 


VER.  19.]    Receiving  the  Ingrafted  Word.  135 

the  remnant  '  that  feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to  another ; 
and  the  Lord  hearkened  and  heard  it,  and  a  book  of  remem- 
brance was  written  before  Him  for  them  that  feared  the  Lord, 
and  that  thought  upon  His  name.'  And  this  is  an  aspect  of 
truth  that  needs  to  be  brought  prominently  forward  ;  for  there 
is  reason  to  fear  that,  in  the  case  of  many  Christians,  indolence 
and  constitutional  reserve  lead  to  much  sinful  neglect  of  oppor- 
tunities given  by  God  in  His  providence  for  uttering  a  word  in 
season.  But  the  judicious  Christian  will  be  very  careful  when, 
and  where,  and  what  he  speaks  on  any  subject,  and  especially 
on  religion.  Knowing  the  power  of  words  for  good  or  evil,  and 
their  solemn  irrevocableness,  feeling  strongly  how  fragmentary 
and  mingled  with  misconceptions  the  knowledge  of  even  the  best 
informed  and  most  thoughtful  of  us  is,  the  wise  believer  will  be 
much  '  swifter '  to  hear  than  to  speak ;  so  that,  not  shrinking 
from  speaking,  where  to  speak  is  plainly  his  duty,  he  will  at 
the  same  time  never  be  rash,  will  not  speak  except  where  he 
sees  duty  clear,  and  then  will  carefully  weigh  his  words.  Such 
is  evidently  the  meaning  of  the  apostle's  counsel  to  be  '  sloiv 
to  speak^  taken  in  a  general  sense. 

But  I  think  there  can  be  little  doubt  from  what  follows  that 
there  is  a  particular  reference  here  to  keen  religious  contro- 
versy, and  to  the  unkind  insinuations  and  personal  reflections 
to  which  it  often  leads.  When  important  truth  is  assailed,  it 
must  be  defended ;  but  then,  most  of  all,  caution,  thoughtful- 
ness,  and  self-control  are  necessary.  From  various  allusions 
in  the  New  Testament,  it  appears  that,  whilst  certain  of  the 
elders  of  each  church  were  set  apart  to  '  labour  in  the  word 
and  doctrine,'  yet  in  the  meetings  for  public  worship  of  the 
Christians  of  the  first  age  the  proceedings  were  to  some  extent 
of  a  conversational  kind,  the  assembly  being  regarded  as  a  reli- 
gious confei^ejice.  This  system  has  some  obvious  advantages, 
but  it  has  also  some  equally  obvious  dangers,  into  which,  it  is 
clear  from  statements  and  advices  in  various  parts  of  the  apos- 
tolic writings,  many  of  the  congregations  fell.  The  meetings 
too  often  became  scenes  of  wranghng,  of  attempts  at  self- 
display,   of  the  manifestation   of  unchristian   tempers  in  the 


136         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.       [ch,  i. 

midst  of  debates  on  Christian  truth ;  and  the  evils  were  found 
so  to  predominate  over  the  good,  that  the  practice  was  soon 
altered  to  that  followed  in  most  Christian  assemblies  now. 
The  special  immediate  force  of  our  apostle's  injunction  here, 
then,  seems  to  me  to  be  this  :  '  In  your  assemblies  for  worship, 
or  wherever,  under  any  circumstances,  religious  conversation, 
particularly  the  discussion  of  religious  doctrine,  springs  up,  let 
your  great  desire  be  to  have  your  minds  instructed  and  your 
hearts  warmed.  Let  each  brother  listen  kindly,  respectfully, 
and  thoughtfully  to  what  his  brethren  say  ;  and  in  any  part  he 
may  himself  take  in  the  discussion,  let  him  not  be  rash  or  in- 
considerate, let  him  not  be  influenced  by  vanity  or  the  mere 
love  of  controversy  and  excitement,  but  by  a  simple  desire  to 
help  on  the  ascertainment  of  truth  for  the  spiritual  benefit  of 
all.     Thus  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speaks 

But,  further — '•slow  to  wrath.'  This  counsel  may  be  in- 
tended to  have  some  bearing  on  both  the  injunctions  preced- 
ing, for  anger  may  spring  up  both  in  hearing  and  speaking 
of  religion.  Unpalatable  truth  often  excites  in  a  hearer's 
mind  ill-will  to  him  who  sets  it  forth.  Paul  asks  the  Galatians, 
'Am  I  therefore  become  your  enemy,  because  I  tell  you  the 
truth?'  And  persons  who  are  pricked  in  their  consciences,  but 
kick  against  the  pricks,  are  always  ready  to  admit  some  such 
hard  thoughts  of  faithful  ministers.  But  the  danger  of  unholy- 
wrath  is  mainly  with  those  who  are  '  swift  to  speak,'  and  the 
precept  now  before  us  seems  to  rise  immediately  out  of  the 
reference  to  speaking.  A  man  who  delights  to  put  himself 
forward  in  debate,  whether  with  tongue  or  pen,  whether  on 
the  floor  of  the  hall  of  an  ecclesiastical  assembly  or  in  a 
gathering  of  Christian  friends  by  a  fireside,  is  extremely  apt 
to  be  carried  away  into  undue  heat  of  feeling,  and  thus  both 
himself  show  an  unholy  temper,  and  stir  it  up  in  those  around. 

You  will  observe  that  the  apostle  does  not  teach  that  anger 
in  itself,  in  all  circumstances,  is  -wTong.  As  we  are  to  be  '  slozo 
to  speak,'  but  must  sometimes  speak,  so  we  are  to  be  ^  sloic 
to  wrath.'  There  is  such  a  thing  as  '  being  angry  and  sinning 
not.'     The  Lord  Jesus  on  one  occasion,  we  are  told,  looked 


VER,  20.]    Receiving  the  Ingrafted  Word.  137 

round  on  a  group  of  narrow-souled,  uncharitable,  wicked  men 
'  luith  anger,  being  grieved  for  the  hardness  of  their  hearts.'  A 
Christian's  soul  may  and  should  be  stirred  with  holy  indigna- 
tion, when  he  sees  or  hears  of  illustrations  of  the  unutterable 
meanness  or  revolting  cruelty  to  which  depravity  sometimes 
debases  the  enemies  of  God.  But  it  becomes  us  to  be  '  slow' 
— ^very  slow — 'to  wrath:'  for  there  is  no  instinctive  feeling 
of  the  soul  into  which  oftener  or  more  easily  sinful  elements 
enter;  none  more  apt  to  be  indefensibly  excited,  or,  even 
when  the  grounds  are  reasonable,  carried  to  an  unreasonable 
degree  ;  none  more  prone  to  wither  the  peace  and  beauty  of 
our  own  Christian  life  and  that  of  all  around  us.  The  wise 
and  loving  Christian  '  is  not  easily  provoked.'  '  He  that  is 
slow  to  anger  is  better  than  the  mighty ;  and  he  that  ruleth 
his  spirit  than  he  that  taketh  a  city.' 

The  twentieth  verse  gives  a  weighty  reason  for  compliance 
with  this  last  injunction :  '  For  the  wrath  of  man  ivorketh  not 
the  righteousness  of  God.'  '  The  righteousness  of  God''  is  an  expres- 
sion which  is  employed  in  Scripture  in  various  senses.  Here 
it  denotes  that  '  righteousness'  or  holy  character  in  man  which 
God  loves  to  see,  and  which  He  forms  through  the  '  word  of 
truth'  and  the  intluences  of  His  Spirit.  '  Worketh '  has  very  much 
the  force  of  'produces;'  as  above,  in  the  third  verse,  'The 
trying  of  your  faith  tvorketh  patience.'  You  observe  the  an- 
tithesis :  'man's  wrath — God's  righteousness.'  As  I  have  said, 
the  'righteousness' is  'God's,'  not  merely  because  He  approves 
it,  but  because  it  comes  from  Him.  Being  the  chief  element 
of  spiritual  life,  it  is  in  regeneration  originated  by  God  through 
the  'word  of  truth,'  and  is  by  Him,  through  means  of  that 
same  '  word,'  sustained.  As  this  righteousness,  then,  comes 
wholly  from  God,  and  opposes  itself  at  every  point  to  man's 
depraved  nature,  it  is  plain  that  words  and  deeds  which  are 
prompted  by  the  anger  that  wells  up  from  the  fountain  of 
Pianos  depravity  cannot  be  helpful  to  God's  righteo7is?iess,  either 
in  ourselves  or  in  others,  but  must  have  a  blighting,  deadening 
power.  As  we  have  seen,  there  may  be  a  righteous  anger,  an 
anger  which  belongs  to  the  'righteousness  of  God'  here  spoken 


138         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  Raines.      [ch.  i. 

of;  but  the  apostle  assumes  that  anger,  as  it  actually  shows 
itself  among  us,  has  always  in  it  more  or  less  that  is  wicked, 
carnal,  of  man,  not  of  God.  Such  anger  cannot  work  out  God's 
righteousness.  It  rouses  up  the  evil  principles  in  our  souls 
into  greater  activity  than  at  other  times.  Amid  the  tempest 
of  passion,  the  thoughts  and  feelings  even  of  a  genuine  ser- 
vant of  Christ  seem  almost  to  break  loose  from  that  grasp 
by  which  they  are  commonly  held  in  sweet  '  captivity  to  the 
obedience  of  Christ.'  To  men  around  it  presents  a  most 
unalluring  misrepresentation  of  the  gospel's  influence,  and 
evokes  from  their  hearts  those  mists  of  pride  and  prejudice 
which  are  most  fitted  to  hide  God  and  His  truth  from  them. 
Controversy,  even  among  Christian  brethren,  is  no  doubt 
sometimes  useful,  and  indeed  necessary  ;  angry  feeling  in  such 
controversy,  never.  '  Wrath'  is  surely  utterly  out  of  place  in 
the  discussion  of  a  religion  which  is  based  on  the  atonement 
of  Christ,  the  gentle  '  Lamb  of  God,'  and  built  up  in  the  soul 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  descended  as  a  gentle  '  dove.' 

The  very  solemn  and  impressive  statement  of  the  twentieth 
verse  leads  naturally  into  another  precept,  in  which  the  line  of 
duty  indicated  in  the  'swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak,  slow  to 
wrath,'  is  still  further  marked  out.  '  The  wrath  of  man  worketh 
not  the  righteousness  of  God  :  wherefore  lay  apart  all  filtJiiness 
and  superfluity  of  'laughtiness,  and  receive  with  meekness  the 
ingrafted  tuord.^  '  Naughtiness '  is  a  word  now  scarcely  ever 
employed  except  of  children's  misdeeds,  but  in  the  older  Eng- 
lish it  was  in  common  use  in  the  general  sense  of  '  wickedness. ' 
The  original  word  which  it  here  represents,  while  denoting 
'  wickedness '  generally,  is  often  used  with  the  special  sense 
of  '  malice,  malignity ;'  and  the  dependence,  shown  by  '  where- 
fore,' of  this  verse  on  the  preceding  statement  regarding 
'  anger,'  proves,  as  it  seems  to  me,  that  this  special  meaning 
is  intended  here.  '  Filthiness '  may  be,  and  has  been  by 
some  expositors,  taken  by  itself,  as  indicating  'moral  pollu- 
tion' of  every  kind;  but  both  the  course  of  thought  and  the 
mode  of  expression  appear  to  suggest  that  we  should  join  it, 
as  well   as  '  superfluity,'  with  '  naughtiness ;'  the   two   things 


VER.  2  1.]    Receiving  the  Ingrafted  Word.  139 

spoken  of  being  thus  not  '  filthiness '  (the  one)  and  '  super- 
fluity of  naughtiness'  (the  other),  but  'filthiness  of  naughti- 
ness '  and  '  superfluity  of  naughtiness.'  The  words  '  super- 
fluity of  naughtiness '  have  a  decidedly  odd  sound  to  our  ears, 
and  the  meaning  is  not  altogether  clear.  They  do  not  im- 
ply, I  need  scarcely  say,  that  there  can  be  any  measure  of 
'  malice  '  which  is  not  '  superfluous '  and  wrong.  By  some,  the 
expression  '  all  superfluity  of  naughtiness '  has  been  supposed 
to  denote  '  every  form  in  which  malice  overflows  into  the  feel- 
ings and  life.'  Again,  the  whole,  'all  filthiness  and  superfluity 
of  naughtiness,'  or  '  all  naughtiness's  filthiness  and  superfluity,' 
may  very  well  mean,  I  think,  '  all  the  malice  which  is  so  pol- 
luting and  so  abundant''  in  our  hearts  by  nature.  But  I  am 
rather  disposed  to  consider  the  horticultural  figure,  which  shows 
itself  plainly  in  '  ingrafted,'  as  in  the  apostle's  mind  throughout 
the  whole  verse ;  and  that  the  meaning  of  the  first  clause  is, 
'  Put  away  (from  the  garden  of  your  moral  life)  all  the  defile- 
ment and  rank  growth  which  are  found  in  malignity,'  or,  more 
simply,  '  all  malignity's  defilement  and  rank  growth.'  We 
should  strive  to  have  '  every  root  of  bitterness'  extirpated,  that 
the  tree  which  yields  'the  fruits  of  the  Spirit'  may  grow. 

Accordingly  the  injunction  goes  on,  '■Receive  with  meekness 
the  ingrafted  word.''  '  My  Father  is  the  Husbandman,'  said  the 
Lord  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  every  one  of  us  is  called  to  be,  in 
a  subordinate  sense,  the  keeper  and  tiller  of  his  own  vineyard. 
As  such  we  have  just  been  enjoined  to  remove  the  disfiguring 
and  destructive  weeds  of  malice  and  passion.  But  when  God 
is  regarded  as  the  Husbandman,  or  when  the  '  Son  of  man '  is 
set  prominently  before  us  as  the  Sower  of  the  good  seed,  then 
our  souls  are  simply  the  field  or  garden  in  which  the  divine 
Agent  works.  The  thought  of  labouring  on  the  soil  of  his  own 
heart,  and  that  of  being  simply  soil  on  which  God  works,  are 
both  so  perfectly  familiar  to  the  Christian,  and  so  clearly  seen 
to  be  but  two  sides  of  the  same  religious  life,  that  to  a  spiritual 
mind  there  is  not  the  slightest  unnaturalness  or  incongruity, 
when  the  apostle  passes  on  at  once  from  speaking  to  us  as 
tillers,  to  address  us  as  ground.    As  ground  we  are  to  '  receive  the 


140         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes.       [ch.  i, 

higrafted''  (or  rather  '  implanted')  '  word.'  Elsewhere  described 
as  seed,  the  'word  of  truth'  is  here  represented  as  a  scion 
or  cutting  of  a  tree.  Now,  as  the  seed  is  'sown'  in  every 
proclamation  or  exhibition  of  the  gospel,  so  the  scion  is  '  im- 
planted' in  the  soil,  whenever  God  brings  the  truth  within  our 
knowledge.  But  the  scion,  like  the  seed,  must  be  welcomed  by 
the  ground,  'received'  gladly — through  faith  the  truth  must  be- 
come rooted  in  us — if  the  fruit  of  righteousness  is  to  be  brought 
forth.  The  apostle's  charge  is,  accordingly,  that  we  should 
'  receive'  it  in  such  a  spirit  as  that  it  may  be  rooted  ;  and  this 
spirit,  with  particular  reference  to  the  'wrath'  and  'malice' 
that  he  has  been  forbidding,  he  describes  as  a  spirit  of  '  meek- 
ness' Immediately,  this  no  doubt  denotes  willingness  to  learn 
from  all  who  can  teach,  without  wrangling  or  arrogant  self- 
assertion.  But  child-like  docility  in  relation  to  God  is  plainly 
included  also ;  for  only  a  heart  which  has  already  been  and 
longs  to  be  more  fully  '  taught  of  God'  to  be  humble  a.nd 
gentle,  can  thus  be  '  meek'  towards  men. 

The  excellence  of  the  'word'  that  has  been  by  God's  kind- 
ness 'implanted'  in  his  readers,  and  thus  the  transcendent 
importance  of  putting  away  everything  from  heart  and  life  that 
may  prevent  its  being  fully,  meekly,  lovingly  '  received '  by  us, 
are  exhibited  by  the  apostle  in  the  last  clause  of  the  verse, 
'  ivhich  is  able  to  save  your  souls!  '  The  gospel  of  Christ  is  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation,  to  every  one  that  believeth,' 
being  His  appointed  instrumentality  for  uniting  men  to  Christ, 
and  thus  obtaining  for  them  forgiveness,  and  sonship,  and  the 
sanctifying  influences  of  the  Spirit.  In  specially  adverting 
to  the  salvation  of  the  '■soul'  (as  in  Peter,  'the  end  of  your 
faith,  even  the  salvation  of  your  souls'),  the  apostle,  we  may 
suppose,  intends  to  bring  out  prominently  the  radical  and 
therefore  gloriously  complete  nature  of  the  deliverance.  It  is 
no  mere  amelioration  or  adornment  of  the  outward  life,  but 
reaches  that  inmost  and  noblest  part  of  our  nature,  out  of 
which  are  '  the  issues  of  life,'  and  by  the  condition  of  which, 
accordingly,  is  determined  the  condition  of  the  whole  man  ; 
for  the  body  follows  the  state  of  the  soul,  to  destruction  or  to 


VER.  2  1.]    Receiving  the  Ingrafted  Word.  141 

salvation.  At  the  same  time,  in  thus  putting  forward  the  truth 
that  God's  salvation  is  fundamentally  a  spiritual  deliverance, 
the  apostle  suggests  to  all  intelligent  readers  that  no  mere 
formal  respect  to  the  '  word,'  His  instrument,  but  the  reception 
of  it  into  the  soul,  will  bring  men  into  the  enjoyment  of  its 
blessings  ;  thus  illustrating  the  meaning  as  well  as  the  reason- 
ableness of  his  precept,  '  Receive  the  word  with  meekness.' 

This  twenty-first  verse  has  an  interesting  parallel  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  second  chapter  of  First  Peter,  a  passage  to  which 
■  I  referred  earlier  in  the  lecture:  'Laying  aside  all  malice' 
(the  same  word  rendered  'naughtiness'  in  James),  'and  all 
guile,  and  hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  speakings, — as 
new-born  babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye 
may  grow  thereby.'  In  both,  the  importance  of  knowing  divine 
truth — so  knowing  it,  being  '  received  with  meekness,'  that  it 
becomes  a  power,  as  spiritual  nourishment,  to  make  the  new 
man  in  Christ  '  grow' — is  set  forth  very  clearly  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  the  needfulness,  in  order  to  our  so  knowing  the 
truth,  of  shunning  unchristian  tempers  and  practices.  There 
are  here  continually  action  and  reaction.  Nothing  can  really 
eradicate  'malice'  and  other  forms  of  sinful  desire  except  the 
influence  of  the  truth ;  but  again,  as  these  evil  propensities  are 
subdued,  the  power  of  the  truth  grows  in  us.  By  thoughtful, 
prayerful,  earnest  effort  to  vanquish  sin,  the  dimming,  begrim- 
ing incrustations  that  have  gathered  on  the  windows  of  the 
soul  are  removed,  and  the  beams  of  heavenly  light  shine  in. 


142         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes.       [ch.  i. 


VIIT. 
THE   SPIRITUAL   MIRROR. 

'  But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own 
selves.  23  For  if  any  be  a  hearer  of  the  word,  and  not  a  doer,  he  is  like 
unto  a  man  beholding  his  natural  face  in  a  glass  :  24  For  he  beholdeth 
himself,  and  goeth  his  way,  and  straightway  forgetteth  what  manner 
of  man  he  was.  25  But  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty, 
and  continueth  therein,  he  being  not  a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of 
the  work,  this  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed.' — ^James  i.  22-25. 

THE  apostle  continues  here  his  treatment  of  the  subject 
taken  up  in  the  verses  immediately  preceding,  and  the 
connection  marked  by  the  introductory  '•  BiiV  may  be  para- 
phrased as  follows  :  '  But  whilst  I  thus  enjoin  upon  you  to  be 
swift  to  hear,  ready  to  receive  with  meekness  the  implanted 
word,  bear  in  mind  all  that  this  receiving  means,  and  that  mere 
hearing  is  by  no  means  all  that  is  implied  in  it.  The  word,  I 
have  said,  is  able  to  save  your  souls.  Now  precious,  inestimably 
precious,  as  are  tidings  of  pardon  and  peace  through  believing, 
the  experience  of  peace  does  not  wholly  fill  up  the  idea  of  the 
salvation  of  the  soul :  one  element,  indeed  the  grand  element, 
of  this  salvation  is  transformation  of  character, — a  radical 
alteration  in  the  convictions,  and  feelings,  and  tendencies  of 
the  soul  itself, — a  change  from  the  love  and  service  of  sin 
to  the  love  and  practice  of  holy  obedience.  Wherefore, 
brethren,' — 

'  Be  ye  doers  of  the  tcord,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceivhig  your 
own  selves'  It  is  obviously  implied  here,  that  the  word  of 
which  the  apostle  speaks  is  in  its  nature  practical,  intended 
and  fitted  to  act  on  the  hearts  and  lives  of  those  that  become 
acquainted  with  it.  There  is,  as  you  know,  much  truth  on 
many  subjects  which,  in  its  place,  is  valuable,  but  which  has 


VER.  2  2.]  The  Spiritual  Mirror.  143 

no  immediate  bearing  on  the  conduct  of  life.  There  is,  no 
doubt,  a  vast  multitude  of  facts  mentioned  in  Scripture,  of 
which,  looked  at  simply  by  themselves,  the  same  may  be  said. 
That  Sihon  was  king  of  the  Amorites,  and  that  Rabbah  was  a 
strong  town  of  the  children  of  Ammon,  are  truths  which  cannot 
well  affect  our  feelings  or  life.  But  '  the  Scriptures  prijicipally 
teach'  religious  truth,  of  which  it  is  of  the  very  essence  to  have 
an  immediate  bearing  on  the  conduct  of  hfe.  And  the  one 
kind  of  religious  truth  revealed  in  the  Bible,  '  what  man  is  to 
beheve  concerning  God,'  is  such  as,  when  believed,  to  prompt 
us,  through  reverence,  and  gratitude,  and  love,  to  hearty  com- 
pliance with  what  is  also  therein  made  known  as  '  the  dut^ 
which  God  requireth  of  man.'  '  Be  ye,  then,  doers  of  the  word, 
and  not  hearers  only.' 

*  To  he  doers '  has  a  force  of  its  own,  distinct  from  that  of 
the  simple  '  to  do.'  You  feel  that  the  expression  exhibits  a 
habitual  ocaipaiion.  It  sets  before  us  as  real  Christians  persons 
who  make  the  '  doing  of  the  word  of  God '  the  main  business 
of  their  lives, — a  business  affecting,  penetrating,  pervading  all 
other  business  and  all  pleasure  ;  so  that  just  as,  when  you  speak 
of  an  ordinary  worldly  trade  or  profession,  you  say  that  a  man  is 
a  teacher,  a  manufacturer,  or  the  like,  so,  speaking  of  character, 
those  that  know  a  Christian  intimately  should  always  be  able 
to  say  of  him,  '  He  is  a  doer  of  the  word  of  God.'  In  every 
department  of  his  life  such  a  man  will  show  clearly  that  he 
makes  this  '  the  principal  thing,'  in  matters  which  men  call 
secular  as  well  as  those  which  they  call  sacred ;  for  he  knows 
that  nothing  is  really  beyond  the  sphere  of  religion,  beyond 
the  sphere  illuminated  by  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  Bible.  In  health  and  sickness,  therefore,  in  his  family 
circle  and  in  general  social  intercourse,  in  the  shop  or  the 
counting-house  no  less  than  at  the  prayer-meeting  or  in 
positive  and  direct  labouring  and  giving  for  Christ's  cause, — 
everywhere,  in  a  life  of  holy  energy,  and  humility,  and  love, 
and  patience,  according  to  the  measure  of  his  faith,  he  will  be 
a  '  doer  of  the  word.'  -^ 

The  apostle  enforces  his  injunction   by  setting  forth   the 


144         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.      [ch.  i. 

solemn  consideration,  that  persons  who  are  '  hearers  only ' 
'  deceive  their  own  selves.^  Such  persons  evidently  altogether 
misconceive  the  nature  of  true  religion,  and  thus  cheat  them- 
selves with  reference  to  their  position  before  God.  Knowing 
that  the  study  of  divine  truth,  through  reading  the  Bible,  giving 
attendance  on  the  public  ordinances  of  grace,  and  otherwise, 
is  a  most  important  duty, — is,  indeed,  the  road  leading  towards 
the  gate  of  everlasting  life, — they  allow  themselves,  through 
man's  natural  aversion  to  all  genuine  spirituality,  to  be  per- 
suaded by  the  wicked  one  that  this  is  the  sum  of  all  Christian 
duty,  and  itself  the  gate  of  life,  so  that  in  mere  '  hearing '  they 
enter  in,  and  all  is  well  with  them.  To  rest  satisfied  with  the 
means  of  grace,  without  yielding  up  our  hearts  to  their  power 
as  means,  so  as  to  receive  the  grace  and  exhibit  its  working 
in  our  lives,  is  manifestly  folly  of  the  same  class  as  that  of  a 
workman  who  should  content  himself  with  possessing  tools, 
without  using  them. — madness  of  the  same  class  as  that  of  a 
man  perishing  with  hunger,  who  should  exult  in  having  bread 
in  his  hands,  without  eating  it, — but  folly  and  madness  as  im- 
measurably greater  than  these,  as  the  '  work  of  God '  (John 
vi.  29)  transcends  in  importance  the  work  of  an  earthly  artisan, 
and  '  life  with  Christ  in  God '  the  perishable  existence  of  earth. 
Yet,  alas,  brethren,  there  is  reason  to  fear  that,  with  "great 
numbers  of  professing  Christians  in  all  sections  of  the  church — 
persons  who  attend  the  house  of  God,  listen  with  a  fair  mea- 
sure of  diligence  to  the  proclamation  of  truth,  and,  it  may  be, 
in  intercourse  with  their  friends  rather  love  to  talk  of  sermons 
and  ministers  and  orthodoxy — this  is  all;  whilst  yet  they  are 
impressed  with  the  conviction  that  they  are  certainly  Christians 
— nay,  perhaps  singularly  excellent  Christians — forgetting  that 
any  degree  of  religious  profession,  where  the  heart  is  destitute 
of  the  love  of  God,  and  the  life  not  consecrated  to  His  service, 
is  in  His  sight  utter  mockery.  On  no  point  are  the  warnings 
and  appeals  of  our  Saviour  and  His  apostles  more  earnest  and 
solenm  than  on  this.  Remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
how  H^l^id  :  '  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  Me,  Lord,  Lord, 
shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  that  doeth  the 


VER.  23.]  The  Spiritual  Mirror.  145 

will  of  My  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Therefore,  whosoever 
heareth  these  sayings  of  Mine,  and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken 
him  unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his  house  upon  a  rock :  and 
the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew 
and  beat  upon  that  house ;  and  it  fell  not, — for  it  was  founded 
upon  a  rock.  And  every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of 
Mine,  and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish  man, 
which  built  his  house  upon  the  sand  :  and  the  rain  descended, 
and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew  and  beat  upon  that 
house ;  and  it  fell ;  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it.'  '  When  once 
the  Master  of  the  house  is  risen  up,  and  hath  shut  to  the 
door,  then  shall  ye  begin  to  say.  We  have  eaten  and  drunk 
in  Thy  presence,  and  Thou  hast  taught  in  our  streets.  But 
He  shall  say,  I  tell  you,  T  know  you  not  whence  you  are : 
depart  from  me,  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity.' 

In  the  verses  which  follow,  the  apostle  brings  forward  with 
considerable  fulness  the  great  reason  for  the  injunction  here 
given, — the  fact  which  is  implied  in  his  statement  that  those 
'  deceive  themselves '  who  are  *  hearers  of  the  word  only.' 
Such  persons  show  that  the  word  has  no  poiver  over  them.  It 
remains  outside  them;  for  though  it  may  have  entered  the 
mind,  yet  it  plainly  has  not  penetrated  into  the  affections  and 
will,  which  morally  constitute  the  man.  Whatever  impression 
is  made  on  the  heart  is  but  transient.  Now,  only  when  the 
word  '  dwells'  (Col.  iii.  16)  in  the  heart,  not  fitfully  but  perma- 
nently, and  when,  consequently,  it  regulates  the  life  not  fitfully 
but  permanently, — it  is  only  in  this  case  that  the  word  brings 
the  blessings  and  glories  of  salvation.  This  is  substantially  the 
meaning  of  the  paragraph ;  but  the  truth  is  presented,  as  you 
see,  in  a  very  interesting  and  graphic  way,  under  the  figure  of  a 
mirror,  and  a  man  looking  at  himself  in  it. 

'  For  if  any  be  a  hearer  of  the  word,  and  not  a  doer,  he  is  like 
tinto  a  man  beholding  his  natural  face  in  a  glass.''  The  expres- 
sion '■  his  natural  face''  (literally,  '  the  face  of  his  birth ')  seems 
intended  to  suggest,  through  the  specialty  made  prominent,  the 
line  of  interpretation  for  the  figure.  We  are,  in  expounding, 
to  think  of  the  spiriiiial  countenance,  the  face  of  the  soul,  as 

K 


146         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes.      [ch.  i. 

contrasted  with  '  the  natural  face,'  which  obviously  is  in  mean- 
ing practically  the  same  as  '  bodily  face.' 

As  a  general  rule,  a  person  looks  into  a  mirror  for  a  definite 
end,  which  can  be  soon  attained  ;  and  then  goes  away  to  the 
work  or  the  pleasures  of  life.  He  glances  at  his  features, 
makes  the  little  arrangements  in  his  personal  appearance  for 
which  a  mirror  is  helpful,  and  then  leaves  the  glass,  and  thinks 
no  more  of  it  or  of  what  he  had  seen  in  it.  So  little  of  definite 
and  lasting  impression,  indeed,  has  been  made  on  him,  that  he 
is  better  acquainted  with  the  features  of  his  friends  than  with  his 
own.  Such,  no  doubt,  is  ordinary  experience,  except  where 
persons  are  under  the  influence  of  a  silly  vanity  in  regard  to 
their  personal  appearance.  Taking  the  facts  to  be  as  now  de- 
scribed, the  apostle  says  that  people  contemplate  the  features 
of  their  souls  as  carelessly,  if  they  be  '  hearers  of  the  word,  and 
not  doers.'  The  force  of  the  illustration,  regarded  as  an  argu- 
ment, is  somewhat  as  follows  :  '  To  make  but  a  brief  survey  of 
the  natural  face  in  the  glass,  to  spend  but  a  little  time  on  that 
bodily  adornment  for  which  the  mirror  is  intended  as  an  aid, 
and  thus  to  receive  but  a  slight  and  evanescent  impression  of 
our  bodily  appearance,  may  be  very  fitting,  since  the  body  is  in 
every  point  of  view  the  inferior  part  of  man,  and  is  appointed 
to  moulder  to  dust.  But  the  case  is  altogether  different  with 
the  soul.  To  know  the  features  of  our  souls  intimately,  to  look 
at  them  carefully,  to  bear  them  much  in  mind,  and  to  strive 
by  every  means  that  their  beauty  may  be  increased, — this  is  the 
part  of  a  wise  man,  this  is  a  sacred  duty :  for  the  soul  is  im- 
mortal ;  and  according  to  the  care  we  bestow  on  it  here,  will  be 
its  condition  in  eternity.  The  soul  which,  by  divine  grace,  is 
through  faith  and  prayer  and  earnest  Christian  effort  cleansed, 
beautified,  and  adorned,  shall  in  heaven  stand  before  God 
clothed  in  the  beautiful  garments  of  salvation  ;  whilst  the  soul 
that  is  heedless  of  holy  beauty,  and  by  the  love  and  practice 
of  sin  disfigures  itself,  marring  its  lineaments  more  and  more 
from  day  to  day,  shall  appear  in  His  presence  in  nakedness, 
uncomeliness,  and  fear.  One  day  certainly  a  voice  of  power 
shall  say,  He  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still ;  and  he  that  is 


VER.  2  4-]  The  Spudtual  Mirror.  147 

filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still.  Let  the  mirror  which  God  has 
given  for  our  souls,  then,  be  used  with  conscientious  and  loving 
diligence.  Study  yourselves  therein,  and  let  the  remembrance 
of  its  revelations  of  your  spiritual  features  be  ever  present  with 
you,  that,  knowing  your  natural  sinfulness,  you  may  grow  into 
the  image  of  God's  holiness.' 

According  to  the  figure,  every  one  who  'hears  the  word' 
beholds  his  spiritual  image,  the  features  of  his  soul,  in  a  glass ; 
which  glass  evidently  is  the  '  word '  spoken  of,  the  testimony 
of  God  in  Scripture.  Conscience  might  to  some  extent  serve 
as  such  a  mirror ;  but,  alas,  through  the  influence  of  our  depra- 
vity, this  mirror  has  been  greatly  flawed,  and  become  very  dull 
in  its  reflection.  Now,  in  the  graphic  delineations  of  the  divine 
word  we  see  ourselves  as  we  really  are.  He  who  '  compasseth 
our  path  and  our  lying  down,  and  is  acquainted  with  all  our 
ways,'  who  '  searcheth  all  hearts,  and  understandeth  all  the 
imaginations  of  the  thoughts,'  has  in  the  Bible  given  His  decla- 
ration of  our  spiritual  condition  ;  and  thus  every  man  who  with 
any  attention  reads  the  Bible,  or  waits  on  a  gospel  ministry, 
must  see  with  some  degree  of  clearness  both  the  defilement 
and  uncomeliness  of  the  countenance  of  his  soul,  and  at  the 
same  time  (for,  through  God's  grace,  more  is  shown  in  this 
glass  than  man's  depravity)  how  alone  purity  and  beauty  can 
be  obtained.  The  seeing  of  these  things  in  God's  mirror  is 
common  to  all  persons  who  in  any  measure  attend  to  the 
word, — though  with  very  varied  degrees  of  clearness. 

From  this  point,  however,  we  have  two  distinct  classes.  The 
mere'SxQZXQx  (the  hearer  that '  doeth  not')  follows  in  every  respect, 
in  his  use  of  the  mirror  which  God  has  given  for  the  soul,  the 
same  course  as  men  generally  follow  in  using  the  mirror  that 
shows  the  '  natural  face  ; '  ^  for  he  beholdeth  himself  and  goeth  his 
way,  atid  straightway  forgdteth  what  manner  of  ma7ihe  7uas.' 

He  ^beholdeth  himself^  but  not  with  much  interest,  not  as  if 
it  were  a  matter  of  vital  importance  to  see  himself  as  God  sees 
him.  He  could  look  at  a  machine,  or  a  picture,  or  an  Act  of 
Parliament,  so  intently  as  to  have  the  whole  accurately  and 
vividly  before  his  mind.     He  can  look  at  himself,  too,  with 


148         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 

much  enjoyment,  in  the  picture  painted  by  his  own  vain  fancy. 
But  the  countenance  which  the  faithful  mirror  shows,  with  all 
its  hard  lines  and  all  its  traces  of  pollution — this  he  does  not 
care  to  contemplate  minutely.  Pride  and  unbelief  enter  in ; 
and  so  he  ^ goeth  his  ivay '  to  his  farm  or  his  merchandise,  his 
library  or  his  ball-room.  He  gives  but  little  time  to  God's 
mirror.  If  each  of  us  were  to  construct  a  time-table  for  any 
average  week  of  his  life,  setting  down  honestly  in  separate  lines 
the  number  of  hours  spent  in  secular  work,  in  recreation  of  one 
kind  or  another,  and  in  studying  God's  will,  '  looking  not  at  the 
things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen,'  many 
a  gospel  hearer  would  be  most  painfully  startled  by  the  results 
brought  out.  Nay,  even  confining  the  inquiry  to  the  day  that 
God  claims  as  peculiarly  His,  what  proportion  of  its  hours  is 
given  to  definite  purpose-like  religious  reading  or  meditation, — 
the  statement  of  facts  would  often  not  be  pleasant  for  us  to  look 
at.     We  are  all  too  ready  to  '  go  our  way '  from  God's  mirror. 

'  Ajid  straightway  forgetteth  what  manner  of  man  he  tvasi' 
His  mind  never  having  been  very  earnestly  occupied  with  the 
truth,  his  thoughts  regarding  it,  such  as  they  were,  are  soon 
driven  out  by  thoughts  on  more  congenial  matters.  '  He  that 
received  seed  among  the  thorns  is  he  that  heareth  the  word, — 
and  the  cares  of  this  world,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches, 
and  the  lusts  of  other  things  entering  in,  choke  the  word,  and 
he  becometh  unfruitful.'  The  forgetfulness  occurs  '■straight- 
way^ The  man  has  been  listening,  it  may  be,  to  a  faithful, 
searching  sermon,  and  under  it  has  been  somewhat  impressed 
with  a  sense  of  his  sinfulness  and  helplessness ;  yet  before  he 
reaches  home,  perhaps,  the  seriousness  has  gone  from  him. 
Oh,  how  many  of  us,  brethren,  know  from  experience  the 
frequent  and  deplorable  evanescence  of  religious  impressions  ! 
In  our  Sabbath  exercises  every  voice  seems  to  say,  'I  go,  sir;' 
but  the  morrow  tells  another  tale.  '  O  Ephraim,'  cries  the 
Lord  through  His  prophet,  '  what  shall  I  do  unto  thee  ?  O 
Judah,  what  shall  I  do  unto  thee  ?  for  your  goodness  is  as  a 
morning  cloud,  and  as  the  early  dew  it  goeth  away.' 

*  But  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  latv  of  liberty,  and  con- 


VER.  25.]  The  Spiritual  Mirroj\  149 

tinueth  therein,  he  being  not  a  foi-gctfiil_  hearer,  bid  a  doer  of  the 
work,  this  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed.^ 

In  contrast  with  the  careless,  unbenefited  hearer  of  God's 
word,  whom  the  apostle  has  sketched  for  us  in  the  two  pre- 
vious verses,  we  have  here  exhibited  the  wise  hearer,  and  this 
mainly  in  unfigurative  language  ;  though  the  '  looking '  is  an 
evidence  that  the  image  of  the  mirror  is  still  in  the  apostle's 
mind,  at  least  at  the  outset.  In  place  of  the  '  glass,'  however, 
we  have  the  thing  signified  by  the  glass  described  to  us  by  the 
very  striking  expression,  '  the  law  of  liberty.^  The  reference  of 
this  name  has  been  understood  in  more  than  one  way ;  yet  if 
we  regard  the  connection  of  the  verse  with  what  precedes  and 
what  follows,  and  also  attend  to  the  apostle's  use  of  the  same 
expression  in  the  twelfth  verse  of  the  next  chapter,  as  illus- 
trated by  the  immediately  preceding  context,  we  cannot  have 
much  doubt,  as  it  appears  to  me,  what  was  in  his  mind.  The 
'  law  of  liberty '  is  evidently,  from  the  course  of  the  argument, 
another  name  for  the  '  word  of  truth,'  by  which  God  regene- 
rates ;  and  the  hearty  acceptance  of  which  constituted  '  the 
faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  and  was  the  root  of  the 
'religion'  professed  by  James's  readers  (i.  iS,  27,  ii.  i).  But, 
no  less  evidently,  while  it  is  the  gospel  that  is  in  his  thoughts, 
it  is  the  gospel  regarded  specially  in  its  sanctifying  aspect,  as 
*  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation '  from  spiritual  debasement 
and  pollution  ;  or,  more  exactly,  '  the  law  of  liberty '  is  the 
divine  law  considered  as  taken  up  into  the  grand  redemptive 
system,  which  has  for  its  purpose  to  make  men  spiritually 
like  God,  '  holy  and  without  blame  before  Him  in  love,' — the 
divine  law,  as  those  who  are  in  Christ  see  it,  exhibited  under 
the  gospel  with  new  motives  and  in  connection  with  new  spiri- 
tual influences, — the  '  old  commandment,  which  we  had  from 
the  beginning,'  and  yet  '  new'  in  Christ. 

The  code  of  morals  exhibited  by  God  in  '  the  word  of  truth ' 
is  for  the  Christian  a  binding  '  law.^  Recognising  God  as  his 
rightful  and  absolute  King,  the  believer  feels  that  every  expres- 
sion of  His  will  with  regard  to  the  conduct  of  His  human  sub- 
jects has  for  him  obligatory  force.     In  accepting  Jesus  as  his 


150         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  i. 

Saviour,  he  has  renounced  all  trust  in  obedience  to  the  law  as  a 
mca?js  of  earning  eternal  life,  acknowledging  that  for  a  depraved 
creature  this  is  hopeless  work,  but  rejoicing  that  Christ,  as  his 
representative,  has  yielded  perfect  obedience,  which  God's 
tender  mercy  will  reckon  as  his.  In  this  respect,  then,  he  is 
'not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace'  (Rom.  vi.  14).  Yet  his 
knowledge  that  he  is  '  under  grace '  only  leads  him  to  feel  the 
more  deeply  his  subjection  to  the  divine  law  as  the  rule  of  life  : 
he  is  '  not  without  law  to  God,  but  under  the  law  to  Christ ' 
(i  Cor.  ix.  21).  And  through  this  ^  to  Christ^ — through  the  fact 
that  all  the  relations  of  the  believer  to  God  are  ///  Christ — the 
law  is  for  him  '  the  law  of  liberty.''  We  are  sensible  of  a  vague 
ness  in  this  language  which  contributes  to  its  grandeur.  Every 
relation  binding  closely  together  these  two,  which  to  the  unwise 
seem  foes,  law  and  liberty,  is  implied  here.  The  divine  law,  as 
seen  by  the  Christian,  exhibits  liberty,  gives  liberty,  is  liberty. 

The  '  light  of  the  Lord '  shows  sin  to  be  a  slavery,  brethren 
— a  cruel  bondage.  Nought  but  slavery  could  keep  that 
noble  creature  of  God,  the  soul  of  man,  ahenated  from  the 
absolutely  Good  and  Beautiful,  indisposed  to  think  of  Him, 
occupied  continually  with  things  that  cannot  by  possibility 
aiford  any  rational  or  lasting  happiness.  Sin  is  an  oppressive 
power,  malignantly  holding  our  spirits  back  from  their  true 
good,  degrading  them  and  weighing  them  down,  so  that  they 
cannot  soar  towards  those  lofty  objects  of  contemplation  and 
effort  for  which  they  were  made.  And  the  clearest  proof  of 
the  crushing  nature  of  this  bondage  is  the  fact  that,  till  the 
light  of  Christ  illumines  the  soul,  the  chains  are  almost  wholly 
unseen.  In  lands  where  the  accursed  system  of  man  holding 
his  fellow  as  a  chattel  exists,  the  thoughtful  mind  sees  the 
clearest  evidence  of  the  utter  abominableness  and  monstrous- 
ness  of  the  iniquity,  not  so  much  in  looking  at  the  slaves  who 
feel  and  lament  their  condition,  as  in  the  case  of  those  whose 
whole  natures  from  their  infancy  have  been  so  degraded  by 
the  sight  and  experience  of  cruelty  and  pollution,  that  their 
hearts  scarcely  rise  to  the  vague  idea  that  all  this  is  unnatural, 
or  that  God  made  such  as  they  are  to  be  other  than  beasts  of 


VER.  25.]  The  Spiritit,al  Mim^or.  151 

burden.  Like  this  is  the  slavery  of  sin  ;  nay,  so  completely 
are  things  spiritual  inverted  before  the  sinner's  mind,  that  he 
counts  himself  free,  and.  deems  obedience  to  God  a  thral- 
dom. *  Let  us  break  asunder  the  bands  of  the  Lord  and  His 
Anointed,'  he  says,  'and  castaway  their  cords  from  us.'  'Pro- 
mising' to  themselves  and  all  who  act  like  them  'liberty,' 
unbelievers  '  are  the  slaves  of  corruption  ;  for  of  whom  a  man 
is  overcome,  of  the  same  is  he  brought  in  bondage.' 

But  the  Christian  sees  things  as  they  really  are,  and  his  will 
is  brought  into  unison  with  God's  will,  so  that  he  loves  to  do 
what  he  ought  to  do.  He  finds  that  in  obedience  to  God,  and 
there  only,  all  the  powers  of  his  nature  find  full,  free  play,  and 
all  his  capacities  of  happiness  full  gratification.  This  is  spiritual 
freedom.  Such  freedom  has  been  enjoyed  under  all  the  stages 
of  the  revelation  of  God's  grace,  in  the  measure  in  which  the 
love  and  beauty  of  His  character  were  apprehended.  '  I  will 
walk  at  liberty,  for  I  seek  Thy  precepts,'  says  the  Psalmist. 
Yet,  no  doubt,  from  the  comparative  darkness  that  prevailed 
during  the  old  economy,  the  buoyant  feeling  of  freedom  was 
attained  to  in  any  high  degree  by  but  few.  Lighted  up  by  the 
meridian  beams  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  as,  since  Pente- 
cost, have  been  the  richness  and  tenderness  of  the  divine  love 
in  Christ,  all  believers  in  Jesus  should,  in  a  measure  far  exceed- 
ing that  which  was  possible  for  ancient  saints,  exult  in  the  sense 
of  liberty  ;  '  for  we  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again 
to  fear,  but  have  received  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we 
cry,  Abba,  Father.'  '  My  yoke  is  easy,'  said  the  Master,  '  and 
my  burden  is  light'  *  This  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep 
His  commandments  ;  and  His  commandments  are  not  grievous.' 
To  the  servant  of  God  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  then, 
the  King's  law  is,  with  peculiar  fulness,  '  the  law  of  liberty,' 
o^  freedom  to  live  up  to  the  capabilities  of  his  being.  He 
enjoys 

'  A  liberty  unsung 

By  poets,  and  by  senators  unpraised, 

Which  monarchs  cannot  grant,  nor  all  the  powers 

Of  earth  and  hell  confederate  take  away  ; 

A  liberty  which  persecution,  fraud, 


1 5  2         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  jfaines.      [ch.  i. 

Oppression,  prisons,  have  no  power  to  bind  ; 
Which  whoso  tastes  can  be  enslaved  no  more. 
He  is  the  freeman  whom  the  trtith  makes  free, 
And  all  are  slaves  beside.' 

Cowper's  Winter  Morning  Walk,  538-544,  733,  734. 

By  the  epithet  ^perfect,'  which  the  apostle  apphes  to  the- 
'  law  of  liberty,'  some  interpreters  suppose  him  to  point  out 
the  superiority  in  fulness  and  clearness  of  the  exposition  of 
moral  duty  given  by  the  Lord  Jesus  and  His  apostles  to  that 
contained  in  the  Old  Testament.  Now,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  whole  of  the  expression  here  employed,  especially  the 
reference  to  '  hberty,'  was  fitted  and  intended  to  bring  up  be- 
fore the  readers'  minds  the  glorious  completeness  of  the  revela- 
tion of  duty  as  well  as  of  grace  which  had  been  granted  to 
them,  as  contrasted  with  that  which  their  fathers  had  enjoyed  ; 
yet  nothing  in  our  apostle's  course  of  thought,  either  here  or 
in  any  other  part  of  the  Epistle,  leads  us  to  think  that  he  means 
this  to  be  more  than  suggested  in  a  secondary  and  incidental 
way.  He  plainly  thinks  primarily  of  the  moral  law  of  God,  as 
made  known  under  all  the  economies, — under  all  of  them  a 
'law  of  liberty'  for  those  who  apprehended  its  spirit  and 
'walked  with  God,'- — under  all  of  them  '■perfect^  as  being  a 
transcript  of  the  divine  character.  His  object  in  drawing 
attention  so  prominently  to  the  grandeur  and  sweetness  of  the 
law  is,  evidently  enough,  to  impress  his  readers  with  the  tran- 
scendent importance  for  their  own  good  of '  not  hearing  only, 
but. doing'  God's  will;  and,  indeed,  for  all  the  thoughtful,  his 
words  anticipate  the  express  declaration  which  comes  after- 
wards, that  '  the  doer'  of  the  law  '  shall  be  blessed  in  his 
deed.' 

In  the  apostle's  description  of  the  wise  gospel  hearer,  we 
find  made  prominent  three  points  of  contrast  with  the  con- 
duct of  the  foolish  man  delineated  in  the  previous  verse.  In 
the  first  place,  this  man  '  looketh '  into  the  spiritual  mirror. 
The  word  rendered  '  behold '  in  the  twenty-third  and  twenty- 
fourth  verses  does  not  necessarily,  taken  by  it§elf,  imply  care- 
lessness; but  that  used  here  does  seem,  according  to  New 


VER.  25.]  The  Spiritual  Mirro7\  153 

Testament  usage  (and  this  naturally,  from  its  etymology),  to 
imply  intentness  of  gaze  ;  and  as  the  apostle  passes  with 
marked  purpose  from  the  use  of  the  one  word  to  that  of  the 
other,  this  idea  is  obviously  meant  to  stand  out  distinctly.  The 
case  here  is  not  that  of  an  object  casually  meeting  the  eye, 
and  thus  being  '  beheld.'  This  man  'stoops  down  beside'  the 
word  of  God  (such  is  the  precise  force  of  the  term)  •  he  alters 
his  position  with  definite  intention  to  contemplate  the  object 
carefully.  Man's  natural  aversion  to  serious  religious  thought 
— an  aversion  springing  from  pride,  or  fear,  or  pure  frivolity  of 
spirit — this  is  the  grand  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  Christ's 
cause.  If  men  would  only  gravely  and  honestly  look  at  their 
own  character  and  prospects,  and  at  the  gracious  offers  made 
by  God  in  Christ,  all  would  be  well.  Seriousness  is  the  true 
'  mother  of  devotion.'  Seriousness,  then,  we  have  here  in  the 
way  in  which  this  man  '  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty.' 

But  again,  whilst  the  foolish  hearer,  having  '  beheld  himself,' 
'goeth  his  way,'  the  wise  man  '■  continueth  (looking).'  The 
'■therein''  which  our  translators  have  supplied  is  somewhat  mis- 
leading ;  for  it  means  (most  naturally  at  least)  '  in  the  law,  in 
obedience  to  the  law,' — a  sense  which  dislocates  the  antithesis, 
and  makes  the  next  clause  tautological.  The  man  '  continues 
looking,'  looks  not  earnestly  only,  but  perseveringly.  There 
are  those  who,  having  listened  to  the  word  attentively,  'anon 
with  joy  receive  it,  and  dure  for  a  while  ;  but,  having  no  root 
in  themselves,  in  time  of  temptation  fall  away.'  These  persons 
have  seen  some  sides  of  gospel  truth,  and  been  attracted  by 
them  ;  but  not  having  prosecuted  the  study  of  the  word,  they 
find  by  and  by  that  difficulties  occur  for  which  the  views  they 
had  taken  of  truth  had  not  prepared  them,  and  thus  they  are 
'offended.'  The  true  disciple  of  Christ  is  always  learning  of 
Him. 

We  have  yet  one  point  more  in  the  contrast.  The  foolish 
hearer  '  straightway  forgetteth  what  manner  of  man  he  was,'  as 
shown  in  the  glass  of  divine  truth ;  whilst  the  crowning  excel- 
lence of  him  whom  we  are  now  contemplating  is  that  he  is  '  not 
a  forgetful  hearer,  hut  a  doer  of  the  work,''  or  rather,  simply,  'a 


154         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  i. 

doer  of  worki'  This  is  the  third  feature  in  the  conduct  of  the 
wise  hearer ;  but  it  holds  such  a  relation  to  the  first  two,  that, 
as  you  will  observe,  it  is  not  connected  with  them,  in  the 
apostle's  sentence,  quite  as  they  are  connected  with  each 
other.  A  man  may  '  look '  who  does  not  '  continue  looking ;' 
and  therefore  the  apostle  is  careful  to  describe  the  person  who 
is  before  his  mind  as  one  who  '  looks,  ajid  continues  looking.' 
But,  these  two  things  being  given,  the  third  follows  of  neces- 
sity, from  the  power  on  man's  mind  and  heart  of  divine  truth, 
earnestly  and  perseveringly  looked  at.  Accordingly  he  brings 
in  the  last  feature  in  such  a  way  as  to  express  this :  '  being 
("thus"  or  "consequently"  we  might  supply)  not  a  forgetful 
hearer,  but  a  doer  of  work.'  The  man  who  avails  himself 
sedulously  of  all  opportunities  of  growing  in  the  knowledge  of 
God's  will,  carries  the  remembrance  of  what  has  occupied  his 
attention  into  all  the  scenes  of  life.  In  the  bustle  and  strain 
of  daily  work  we  naturally  and  reasonably  lose  all  thought  ot 
the  mirror  for  the  'natural  face;'  but  the  revelations  of  the 
spiritual  mirror,  often  and  with  deep  interest  contemplated, 
remain  with  him  who  saw  them,  and,  more  or  less  consciously, 
are  powers  over  him  at  all  times,  in  all  circumstances.  He  is 
the  very  opposite  of  the  'forgetful  hearer;'  and  his  remem- 
brance— necessarily  operative,  from  the  nature  of  the  truth  seen 
and  believed — leads  him  to  shun  sin,  and  in  every  waj^,  as  God 
gives  him  opportunity,  to  labour  in  God's  cause.  From  the 
very  nature  of  the  case,  he  is  'a  doer  of  work.'  To  speak  of 
a  candid  and  persevering  student  of  God's  will  who  does  not 
in  practice  try  to  do  God's  will,  is  to  utter  that  which  is  absurd, 
self-contradictory. 

Having  described  wise  dealing  with  the  word  of  God, 
the  apostle  pronounces  him  who  so  deals  with  it  'blessed.' 
'  Whoso  looks — and  that  perseveringly — into  the  perfect  law 
of  liberty,  and  thus  comes  to  have  the  remembrance  of  it  ever 
with  him,  and  to  be  a  doer  of  the  work  it  enjoins,' — '■  tJiis  man^ 
says  James  emphatically,  as  if  to  concentrate  on  him,  for  ad- 
miration and  imitation,  the  eyes  of  all  readers,  '  shall  be  blessed 
in  his  deed,'  or,  more  exactly,  as  the  margin  has  it,   ^in  his 


VER.  2  5-]  The  Spiritual  Mirror.  155 

doing'  of  the  work.  The  '  blessedness '  of  the  righteous  will 
have  its  glorious  completeness  only  in  heaven,  when  the  King 
says,  '  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servants,  enter  ye  into  the 
joy  of  your  Lord.'  Yet  even  here,  '■in  the  doing''  of  God's  will 
the  saint  experiences  'a  joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory.'  '  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  more  to  be  desired 
than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine  gold,  sweeter  also  than  honey 
and  the  honeycomb  ;  and  in  keeping  of  them  there  is  great  re- 
ward^ '  Our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testimony  of  our  conscience 
that  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  not  with  fleshly  wisdom, 
but  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  have  our  conversation  in  the 
world.'  The  supreme  'blessedness'  of  every  Christian,  bre- 
thren, is  to  know  himself  growing  liker  his  Lord.  Now,  as  he 
'  continues  looking '  into  the  '  glass  '  of  Scripture,  he  sees  ever 
more  and  more  clearly,  not  the  likeness  of  himself  merely, 
but  that  of  the  Master,  who  has  come  to  stand  very  near  His 
servant ;  and  thus,  '  beholding  in  the  glass  the  glory  of  the 
Lord,'  he  is,  by  the  energy  of  the  Spirit,  through  the  trans- 
forming power  of  love,  '  changed  into  the  same  image,  from 
glory  to  glory.'  By  and  by  we  shall  see  Him  no  longer  '  as  in 
a  glass,  darkly,'  but  'face  to  face  :'  the  reflection  of  the  Alto- 
gether Lovely  will  give  place  to  the  '  open  vision.'  Then  the 
*  blessedness '  will  be  perfect,  because  '  when  He  shall  appear, 
we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is.' 


^ 


1 56         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  i. 


IX. 

TRUE  RELIGIOUS  SERVICE. 

'  If  any  man  among  you  seem  to  be  religious,  and  bridleth  not  his  tongue, 
but  deceiveth  his  own  heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vain.  27  Pure 
religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this, — to  visit 
the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself 
unspotted  from  the  world.' — James  i.  26,  27. 

THESE  verses  are  closely  connected  with  what  precedes. 
The  apostle  wishes  to  impress  on  his  readers  the  vast  im- 
portance of  being  'doers,  and  not  hearers  only;'  and  he  knows 
the  great  advantage  of  exhibiting  a  particular  example  illustra- 
tive of  any  general  principle, — not  merely  from  its  making  the 
meaning  clear,  but  because,  in  morals  especially,  general  prin- 
ciples are  apt  to  slip  from  thought,  whilst  examples  lay  hold 
of  heart  and  conscience  like  grappling  irons.  A  general  prin- 
ciple of  duty  is  to  our  feelings  very  often  like  an  exquisitely 
chiselled  and  most  beautiful  statue  in  a  gallery  of  art,  looked 
at  with  admiration,  but  cold,  dead,  destitute  of  all  connection 
with  our  daily  life, — an  example,  like  a  living,  loving,  wise 
friend  and  adviser,  whom  we  meet  at  every  turn  in  our  life. 
The  apostle  proceeds,  accordingly,  to  show  what  '  doing  God's 
word '  is  by  special  cases :  and  this  first  negatively,  mentioning 
one  easily  recognised  feature  which  characterizes  the  no?i-doer; 
then  positively,  describing  modes  of  conduct  which,  with  more 
or  less  fulness,  are  found  in  doers. 

First,  negatively  :  ^  If  any  man  among  you  sectn  to  be  religious, 
and  bridleth  not  his  tongue,  but  deceiveth  his  own  heart,  this  ma?i's 
religion  is  vain.''  Our  authorized  version,  admirable  on  the 
whole  alike  for  accuracy  and  for  perspicuity  and  beauty  of 
expression,  appears  to  lack  somewhat  of  its  customary  excel- 
lence in  the  rendering  of  this  verse ;  for  in  one  or  two  points 


VER.  26.]  True  Religious  Service.  157 

it  is  obscure,  if  not  misleading.  The  sentence  would  have 
been  clearer,  if  in  the  middle  clauses  the  participial  form  had 
been  retained  which  they  have  in  the  original,  thus  :  '  whilst 
bridling  not  his  tongue,  but  deceiving  his  own  heart.'  Again, 
the  question  very  naturally  arises,  How  can  a  man  seem  at  all 
to  be  religious — how  could  any  person  take  him  for  religious — 
when  his  religious  pretensions  are  completely  and  obviously 
refuted  by  his  unbridled  tongue,  'his  speech  bewraying  him?' 
But  the  word  translated  ^ seem''  has  reference  merely  to  the 
existence  of  an  opinion,  not  to  the  existence  of  any  apparent 
ground  for  this  opinion ;  and  in  the  present  case  the  opinion 
is  the  man's  own.  The  meaning  therefore  is,  '  seem  to  him- 
self or  'think  himself;'  just  as,  for  example,  in  Paul's  words 
to  the  Corinthians  :  '  If  any  man  among  you  seemeth  to  be  wise 
in  this  world,  let  him  become  a  fool,  that  he  may  be  wise'  (i 
Cor.  iii.  18),  But  after  these  little  things  have  been  rectified, 
there  still  remains  the  chief  misleading  element  in  the  transla- 
tion,— which,  however,  is  not  due  to  any  ignorance  or  careless- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  translators,  but  to  a  change  since  their 
days  in  the  meaning  of  the  words  '■religion''  and  '■religious.^ 

Change  of  meaning  is  a  source  of  error  that  has  affected 
a  considerable  number  of  words  in  the  English  Bible  ;  and 
there  is  plainly  more  danger  of  misunderstanding  passages 
where  these  occur,  than  passages  where  words  occur  that  are 
now  entirely  out  of  use.  When  you  meet  such  a  word  as 
*  ouches,'  '  taches,'  '  days-man,'  you  see  at  once  that  it  is  a 
stranger  in  modern  English ;  and  if  you  wish  to  understand 
what  you  read,  and  do  not  merely  go  over  a  chapter  mechani- 
cally, under  the  idea  that  you  are  serving  God  and  benefiting 
yourselves  by  passing  the  eye  over  the  words,  you  ask  a  well- 
informed  friend,  or  consult  a  book,  what  the  obsolete  word 
means.  But  when  you  read,  '  If  any  widow  have  children  or 
nephews^  and  do  not  know  that  everywhere  in  our  version 
this  word  means  *  grandson ;'  when  you  are  told  that  Paul 
and  his  company  'took  up  their  carriages.,  and  went  up  to 
Jerusalem,'  or  that  '  David  left  his  carriage  in  the  hand  of  the 
keeper  of  the  carriage^  and  forget  that  with  our  translators 


158         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James .      [ch.  i. 

'carriage'  meant  'baggage;'  when  you  hear  Paul  saying  to 
the  Athenians,  'As  I  passed  by,  and  beheld  your  devotions, 
I  found  an  altar,'  and  do  not  -know  that  by  these  the  trans- 
lators intend  the  outward  objects  connected  with  what  we  now 
call  devotion — temples,  images,  and  the  like;^ — in  these  and 
other  similar  cases  you  might  easily  go  unconsciously  alto- 
gether astray  as  to  the  sense  of  the  passage.  Words  wholly 
unused  in  the  English  of  our  own  time  '  are  like  rocks  which 
stand  out  from  the  sea  :  we  are  warned  of  their  presence,  and 
there  is  little  danger  of  our  making  shipwreck  upon  them. 
But  words  like  those  which  have  been  just  cited,  as  familiar 
now  as  when  our  version  was  made,  but  employed  in  quite 
different  meanings  from  those  which  they  then  possessed,  are 
like  hidden  rocks,  which  give  no  notice  of  their  presence,  and 
on  which  we  may  be  shipwrecked,  if  I  may  so  say,  without  so 
much  as  being  aware  of  it.'  ^ 

By  far  the  most  serious  of  the  misconceptions  arising  from  this 
source  of  error  are  those  connected  with  the  words  '■religion''  and 
'  religions^  especially  in  the  passage  before  us.  At  the  time  our 
translation  was  made,  these  words  seem  to  have  been  generally, 
if  not  always,  employed  with  reference  to  the  outward  forms  in 
which  what  we  now  usually  call  'religion' — reverence  and  love 
to  God — showed  itself.  The  words  do  not  occur  often  in  our 
Bible, — nowhere  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  but  a  few  times 
in  the  New ;  but  in  every  case  they  refer  to  what  we  may 
call  the  body,  not  the  said,  of  religion — to  forms  of  worship, 
under  which  there  might  or  might  not  be  true  piety.  '  Godly ' 
and  '  godliness '  are  the  terms  our  translators  employ  for  the 
spirit  of  religion.  In  the  verses  before  us,  the  words  in  the 
original  which  '  religion '  and  '  religious '  are  used  to  represent 
unquestionably  refer  to  worship,  or,  generally,  to  the  form  or 
embodimetit  of  religion.      I  have  gone  into  this  matter  with 

^  I  Tim.  V.  4  ;  Acts  xxi.  15  ;  i  Sam.  xvii.  22  ;  Acts  xvii.  23.  Some  in- 
teresting and  valuable  remarks  on  this  source  of  error  are  to  be  found  in  the 
second  chapter  of  Archbishop  Trench's  work  entitled,  On  the  Authorized 
Version  of  the  Ne^u  Testament. 

"  Trench. 


VER.  26.]  True  Religions  Service.  159 

some  fulness,  because  I  am  persuaded  that  the  last  verse  of 
this  chapter,  misunderstood,  has  often  been  applied  as  an 
opiate  to  their  consciences  by  persons  who,  feeling  that  they 
loved  the  world  and  the  things  of  the  world  more  than  they 
loved  Jesus  Christ,  would  fain  believe  that  a  life  of  outward 
decency  and  some  kindness  to  the  poor  constitutes  the  whole 
of  religion — the  whole  of  piety.  What  the  apostle  states  is 
that,  where  piety  exists  in  the  soul,  stainless  morality  and 
earnest  philanthropy  form  its  proper  and  legitimate  outward 
expression. 

Gathering  up  what  has  been  said  in  regard  to  various  points 
in  the  rendering,  we  may  give  the  translation  of  the  verse 
thus  :  *  If  any  man  among  you  think  himself  to  be  observant 
of  religious  service,  whilst  at  the  same  time  bridling  not  his 
tongue,  but  deceiving  his  own  heart,  that  man's  religious 
service  is  vain.'  The  case  supposed  is  that  of  a  '  hearer  of 
the  word,' — a  person,  say,  who  attends  the  house  of  God  with 
considerable,  perhaps  great  regularity,  to  whom  the  Bible  is 
not  by  any  means  an  unfamiliar  book,  and  who  regards  his 
character  with  complacency,  but  all  the  while  has  a  tongue  that 
is  *  unbridled^  unrestrained  by  Christian  judgment  and  feeling. 

The  tongue,  you  observe,  needs  to  be  ' bridled'  Like  all  the 
other  members,  it  is  by  nature  yielded  up  as  an  *  instrument  of 
unrighteousness,'  under  the  impulse  of  unholy  passions.  By 
nature  its  course  is  wild  and  destructive,  like  that  of  a  spirited 
horse,  infuriated,  and  free  from  bit  and  bridle.  The  apostle 
assumes,  too,  that  Christian  principle  will  bridle  it.  '  For  this 
purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested,  that  He  might  destroy 
the  works  of  the  devil,'  and  among  them  falsehood,  profanity, 
unkind,  unclean,  unprofitable  talk.  The  gospel  of  Christ  is 
'  the  power  of  God '  to  effect  this,  to  save  the  soul  from  the 
corrupting  power  of  the  devil,  to  bring  men  to  yield  up  the 
tongue,  with  all  the  other  members,  'as  instruments  of  right- 
eousness unto  God.'  *  Whoso,'  then,  Mooketh  into  the  perfect 
law  of  liberty,  and  continueth  looking,  he  being  not  a  forget- 
ful hearer,  but  a  doer  of  work,  this  man  bridleth  his  tongue.' 

The  apostle's  statement  here  implies  still  further,  that  brid- 


i6o         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  Jajnes.      [ch.  i. 

ling  the  tongue  is  a  peculiarly  excellent  test  of  ge?iuine  religion. 
From  drunkenness,  uncleanness,  and  other  gross  and  obvious 
vices,  many  are  led  to  abstain  through  influences  unconnected, 
or  but  indirectly  connected,  Avith  religion  ;  but  whilst  every 
true  Christian — every  person  really  spiritually-minded — will 
with  more  or  less  thoroughness  and  success  bridle  his  tongue, 
there  must  be  very  few  cases,  if  any,  in  which  this  is  habi- 
tually done  by  an  unconverted  person.  The  government  of 
the  tongue  is  a  task  so  difficult,  that  he  who  has  grace  to 
accomplish  it,  has  grace  to  accomplish  anything.  Think  of 
the  facility  and  rapidity  with  which  sins  of  the  tongue  ai-e  com- 
mitted. Almost  before  we  are  conscious  that  a  thought  has 
entered  the  mind,  before  we  have  taken  a  moment  to  ponder 
its  nature  or  the  consequences  of  uttering  it,  it  has  leapedinto 
outward  life  as  a  spoken  sentence.  Again,  think  of  the  great 
scope  there  is  for  going  wrong.  To  most  of  the  other  sins 
which  take  an  outward  form  temptations  present  themselves 
but  occasionally  ;  and  if  we  desire  it,  we  may  to  a  consider- 
able extent  keep  ourselves  clear  of  the  circumstances  in  which 
the  temptations  occur.  But  business  and  the  general  inter- 
course of  life  cannot  be  carried  on  without  speaking,  and 
therefore  there  is  always  abundant  scope  and  temptation 
for  offences  of  the  tongue.  The  words  any  one  of  us  speaks 
during  one  day  of  average  talkativeness  would,  I  suppose,  if 
printed,  go  far  to  fill  a  fairly-sized  volume.  Speech  is  con- 
tinually passing  from  us  on  the  most  varied  subjects  ;  and 
thus,  as  it  is  far  more  difficult  for  a  military  commander  to 
keep  a  post  to  which  there  are  many  approaches,  than  one 
where  he  is  safe  if  his  force  is  concentrated  on  two  or  three, 
so  the  habitual  and  thorough  government  of  the  tongue  is  a 
singularly  difficult  duty.  Still  further,  consider  how  little  help 
one  has  to  the  right  discharge  of  this  duty  from  popular  feeliiig 
on  the  subject.  '  You  know  how  very  little  importance  men 
generally  attach  to  sins  of  the  tongue.  Is  not  the  tendency 
of  our  minds  to  reason  thus :  A  hasty  word,  vented  in  a 
moment  of  excitement,  a  slight  misrepresentation,  a  profane 
joke,  an  impure  innuendo — why,  it  is  all  empty  breath,  nothing 


VER.  26.]  True  Religions  Service.  i6i 

serious  is  intended  by  it,  and  a  man  may  be  a  very  good  man 
who  indulges  in  such  words  occasionally.'^ 

When  you  think  of  these  things,  my  brethren,  is  it  not  plain 
that  nothing  but  deep,  decided  piety  will  habitually,  thoroughly, 
on  all  subjects,  in  all  circumstances,  bridle  the  tongue?  This 
can  do  it,  this  will  do  it.  Every  believer,  according  to  the  mea- 
sure of  the  intelligence  and  liveliness  of  his  faith,  bridles  his 
tongue;  for  he  knows  that  God's  judgment  on  words  is  not  as 
man's.  '  I  say  unto  you,'  was  the  solemn  declaration  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  *  that  every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give 
account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment.  For  by  thy  words  thou 
shalt  be  justified,  and  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned. 
A  good  man,  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  the  heart,  bringeth  forth 
good  things  ;  and  an  evil  man,  out  of  the  evil  treasure,  bringeth 
forth  evil  things.'  It  is  evident  that,  however  lightly  men  may 
regard  the  conduct  of  one  who  speaks  words  which  ought  not 
to  be  spoken,  '  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless.' 

Thus,  looking  into  the  matter  closely,  you  see  that  nothing 
could  well  be  either  a  truer  or  a  more  easily  consulted  index 
of  the  character  of  the  heart  than  the  character  of  the  tongue 
— lawless  or  *  bridled,'  regulated  constantly  by  reverence  and 
love  for  God  and  His  law. 

Hence  it  follows  that  a  professor  of  Christianity,  a  man  who 
believes  himself  to  be  an  acceptable  worshipper  of  God,  and 
who  yet  '  bridleth  not  his  tongue,'  necessarily  '  deceiveth  his 
0W71  heart  •'  for  through  such  conduct  he  plainly  takes  rank, 
not  among  '  the  doers  of  the  word,'  but  among  the  '  hearers 
only,'  of  whom  the  apostle  has  already  said,  in  the  twenty- 
second  verse,  that  they  'deceive  their  own  selves.'  Such  a 
man  cheats  himself,  in  that  he  fancies  that  a  decorous  ob- 
servance of  ordinances  and  a  freedom  from  some  of  the 
coarser  vices  prove  piety,  though  all  the  while  his  corrupt, 
unhallowed  speech  betrays  a  corrupt,  unhallowed  heart. 

'  Dean  Goulburn,  in  a  sermon  preached  in  the  school  chapel  at  Rugby, 
and  printed  as  an  appendix  to  his  excellent  little  book,  The  Idle  IVord.  To 
this  sermon  I  have  been  indebted,  in  writing  the  present  lecture,  for  several 
valuable  hints. 

L 


1 62         Lectures  oil  the  Epistle  of  yames.       [ch.  i. 

Or,  if  the  apostle's  reference  in  'bridling  not  the  tongue' 
be,  in  the  first  instance,  and  especially — as,  from  the  connec- 
tion of  the  verse  with  what  precedes,  I  am  inclined  to  think — 
to  unchristian  bitterness  in  religious  discussions,^  then  these 
persons  may  even,  and  no  doubt  often  do,  '  deceive  their 
own  hearts^  to  the  extent  of  fancying  that  their  unbridled 
speech  itself,  their  fierce  and  uncharitable  declamation  on  be- 
half of  what  they  deem  orthodoxy,  is  a  service  rendered  to 
God — that  their  'wrath'  is  fitted  to  'work  His  righteousness.' 
This  special  reference  of  the  '  deceiving ' — '  cheating  them- 
selves with  the  idea  that  their  angry  and  arrogant  speech  is 
honouring  to  God' — appears  to  me  almost  certainly  the  true 
one,  because  thus  a  distinct  and  impressive  thought  is  brought 
out ;  whilst,  if  we  give  the  word  only  the  general  sense — 
'cheating  themselves  with  the  thought  that  they  are  Chris- 
tians, when  they  are  not' — then  it  is  difficult  to  discriminate 
this  from  the  force  of  the  closing  statement  in  the  verse,  to 
which  we  now  come. 

'  This  man's  religion ' — that  is,  as  we  have  seen,  '  religious 
service ' — '  is  vain,'  '  empty  and  profitless.'  The  apostle,  ex- 
perienced in  human  weakness,  would  be  very  far  from  saying 
that  all  who  sometimes,  or  even  often,  are  guilty  of  violent  or 
otherwise  unguarded  utterances,  are  thereby  absolutely  proved 
to  be  irreligious.  Yet,  certainly,  those  with  whom  this  is 
frequent  have  much  cause  to  doubt  of  their  piety.  Persons 
who  look  largely  to  their  theological  bitterness,  or  their  keen 
denunciation  of  the  moral  halting  of  their  neighbours,  as  evi- 
dence of  their  standing  before  God,  are  trusting  to  a  broken 
reed.  And  wherever  a  man's  tongue  is  habitually  unbridled, 
then,  many  though  his  prayers  may  be,  great  his  knowledge  of 
truth,  high  his  hopes,  decorous  his  general  life,  still  '  his  reli- 
gious service  is  vain,' — it  lacks  life  and  power, — it  is  a  body 
without  a  soul, — and  it  meets  no  acceptance  with  God  :  for 
'  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh,'  and 

1  The  figure  of  '  bridling '  one  can  hardly  help  feeling  to  have  a  peculiar 
appropriateness,  if  passion,  bursts  of  angry  invective,  be  the  sin  of  uhe 
tongue  particularly  in  the  writer's  mind. 


VER.  27.]  TriLe  Religious  Service.  163 

therefore  a  mouth  full  of  wrath  and  bitterness  cannot  but  re- 
veal a  heart  full  of  envy  and  malice  and  uncharitableness, — a 
heart  that  has  not  yet  felt  how  marvellous  is  the  love  of  Christ, 
and  thus  by  the  divine  '  gentleness  '  been  made  truly  '  great,' 

Having  thus  pointed  out  the  non-'-  doer  of  the  word  '  by  de- 
scribing a  feature  easily  recognised,  and  which  evidently  was 
to  be  seen  lamentably  often  among  the  professing  Christians  of 
that  age, — and  in  most  ages  of  the  church  since  too,  for  men 
slow  to  hear,  but  swift  to  speak,  and  speak  arrogantly  and 
unlovingly,  have  never  been  wanting  in  her  ranks, — the  apostle 
goes  on  now  to  depict  the  *  doer,'  and  thus  show  how  Christ 
would  have  men  serve  Him.  '  The  religious  service '  of  the 
man  who  has  been  set  before  us  in  the  twenty-sixth  verse — very 
fair  in  his  own  esteem — was  in  truth,  before  the  eye  of  God, 
sullied  with  a  broad  black  stain, — a  stain  that  came  from  within, 
from  a  polluted  heart,  and  thus  made  the  whole  '  vain.'  In 
what  follows  we  have  in  contrast  a  description  of  ^religious  ser- 
vice pure  and  undefiled^  These  two  epithets  are  as  nearly  as 
possible  equivalent  in  meaning, — the  one  exhibiting  the  idea 
positively,  the  other  negatively ;  and  they  seem  to  be  joined 
here  simply  to  give  emphasis  to  the  thought.  But  further,  the 
'religious  service'  now  to  be  depicted  is  'pure  and  undefiled 
before  God' — that  is,  '  in  His  sight  or  estimation.'  The  views 
of  men  on  the  nature  of  acceptable  worship  are  very  varied  ; 
but  it  is  God  '  with  whom  we  have  to  do.'  It  is  His  view  on 
the  subject  that  alone  will  be  regarded  at  the  great  judgment : 
how  transcendently  important  it  is,  then,  that  we  should  accept 
that  view  now  !  By  the  words  rendered  '  God  and  the  Father'' 
is  meant,  undoubtedly,  '■our  God  and  Father'' — He  who  'be- 
gat us  with  the  word  of  truth.'  Now,  wherever  in  Scripture 
an  addition  is  made  to  the  simple  name  of  God,  there  is 
implied  in  the  addition  something  by  way  of  argument  or 
illustration  specially  bearing  on  the  point  before  the  writer. 
This  special  force  here  is  obvious  and  striking.  '  To  us  Chris- 
tians God  has  given  life,  and  the  life  is  that  of  His  children. 
This  is  our  supreme  dignity,  the  chief  spring  of  our  joy.  Now, 
what  can  be  a  true  and  acceptable  embodiment  or  exhibition 


164         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  i. 

of  this  new  spiritual  life,  except  such  an  outward  life  as  bears 
the  image  of  our  Father,  such  a  life  as  mirrors  His  love  and 
holiness,  who  is  Father  of  the  fatherless,  and  Judge  of  the 
widows,  and  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil  ? ' 

In  accordance  with  what  is  thus,  as  we  see,  naturally  sug- 
gested by  the  name  '  our  God  and  Father,'  the  '  pure  and 
undefiled  religious  service '  of  His  children  is  set  forth  by  the 
apostle  as  falling  into  two  great  divisions — active  philanthropy 
and  personal  holiness.  This  is  plainly  not  altogether  exhaus- 
tive, but  sufficient  for  his  purpose.  He  wishes  to  bring  im- 
pressively before  his  readers  those  elements  of  true  '  service ' 
in  which  many  of  them  were  grievously  lacking.  The  third 
great  division,  attention  to  'religious  ordinances' — in  our  ordi- 
nary limited  application  of  the  expression — attention  to  prayer, 
to  the  study  of  the  Bible,  to  public  worship,  and  to  the  sacra- 
ments, he  leaves  unmentioned ;  because,  as  the  whole  course  of 
his  previous  remarks  has  shown,  those  for  whom  he  primarily 
wrote  were  not  seriously  neglectful  of  these  duties,  regarded 
simply  as  outward  services,  but  in  too  many  cases  deemed  them 
the  sum-total  of  the  proper  embodiment  of  religion. 

'  The  father/ess  and  widows '  are  clearly  enough  representa- 
tive classes.  Their  case  is  meant  to  suggest  the  general  cate- 
gory of  '  all  that  need  temporal  or  spiritual  help — all  who,  from 
any  cause,  require  the  active  display  of  Christian  love.'  Thus, 
as  I  have  already  said,  this  branch  of  '  religious  service '  is 
active  philanthropy.  '  The  widow  and  the  fatherless  '  are  often 
referred  to  in  the  Bible  as  claiming  peculiar  sympathy,  and  the 
feelings  of  all  of  us  attest  the  justice  of  this  representation. 
And  an  Oriental  widow  (particularly  when  through  any  cause 
cut  off  from  the  aid  of  her  natural  connections — father,  brother, 
and  the  like — as,  no  doubt,  among  the  Jewish  Christians  was 
often  the  case  through  the  woman's  conversion)  'presents  a 
case  of  even  more  absolute  destitution  than  with  us  :  for,  in  the 
East,  any  resources  of  remunerative  occupation  to  a  woman 
can  be  scarcely  said  to  exist ;  and  the  comparatively  secluded 
habits  of  life  which  custom  exacts,  prevent  her  from  pressing 
her  claims  and  wants  upon  the  attention  of  others  with  that 


VER. 


27.]  True  Religious  Service.  165 


vigour  and  effect  which  among  ourselves  a  widow  may  properly 
do.'i 

True  piety,  the  apostle  says,  will  impel  us  '/<?  visiV  the 
destitute,  in  order  to  give  comfort  and  aid.  The  word  is  one 
employed  of  God's  manifestations  of  grace.  '  Blessed  be  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel,'  exclaims  good  Zacharias,  'for  He  hath 
visited  and  redeemed  His  people,  and  hath  raised  up  an  horn 
of  salvation  for  us.'  So,  when  Jesus  raised  from  the  dead  the 
widow's  son  at  Nain,  'there  came  a  fear  on  all,  and  they  glorified 
God,  saying,  A  great  prophet  is  risen  up  among  us,  and  God 
hath  visited  His  people'  (Luke  i.  68,  69,  vii.  16).  The  em- 
ployment of  the  term  in  the  passage  before  us,  regarding 
God's  children,  has  manifestly  reference  to  visits  made  in  their 
heavenly  Father's  spirit  of  tender  love  and  pity.  The  need 
and  the  purpose  of  the  '  visit'  which  constitutes  an  element  in 
true  'religious  service,'  are  further  defined  by  '///  their  affliction.^ 
Many  visits — many  visits  to  '  the  fatherless  and  widows '  even 
— may  have  nothing  of  religion  connected  with  them  ;  but 
when  the  existence  of  need  draws  men,  through  the  working  of 
Christian  love,  to  strive  to  satisfy  the  need,  there  is  a  religious 
deed. 

Christians  act  in  the  spirit  of  the  principle  here  laid  down, 
when  they  give  money  to  build  and  maintain  asylums  for 
the  sick  and  destitute,  and  to  send  Bibles  and  missionaries  to 
the  heathen  at  home  and  abroad.  But  this  is  not  all  that 
is  required.  The  apostle's  statement  evidently  intimates  that 
vital  religion  in  the  soul  will  reveal  itself  hy  personal  exertion 
in  the  way  of  Christian  help  to  others,  as  its  legitimate  embodi- 
ment. In  our  age,  at  least  as  fully  as  in  any  previous  age  of 
the  world,  men  believe  in  the  power  of  money, — and  money 
certainly  can  do  many  things  ;  but  it  cannot  buy  the  position 
before  God  of  Christians ;  nor,  in  the  case  of  true  Christians, 
can  it  buy  advancement  in  the  divine  life.  Too  many  are 
disposed  to  compound  for  personal  effort,  by  giving  to  chari- 
table institutions.  The  sound  principle  on  the  subject,  I 
apprehend,  is  that  'this  we  ought  to  do,  and  not  to  leave  the 
'  Kitto's  Daily  Bible  Illustrations,  viii.  58. 


1 66         Lectures  07i  the  Epistle  of  James.       [ch.  i. 

other  undone.'  Town  missionaries  and  Bible-women  are  most 
necessary  and  most  useful ;  yet  I  cannot  help  believing  that 
the  Christian  who,  because  there  are  such  agencies,  and  he 
helps  to  maintain  them,  abstains  from  personally  ^visiti?ig  the 
fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,'  sinfully  darkens  and 
enfeebles  his  own  spiritual  life.  And  persons  who  can  take 
time  for  much  recreation  of  various  kinds,  and  who,  in  the 
midst  of  a  day  which  they  would  declare  to  be  quite  full  of 
business,  could  yet  certainly  make  time  to  consider  some  new 
remunerative  piece  of  business  which  unexpectedly  presented 
itself,  and  accomplish  all  the  rest  besides, — such  persons  can- 
not at  the  bar  of  conscience  plead  want  of  time  for  the  dis- 
charge of  Christian  duty.  Few  things,  dear  brethren,  are 
more  quickening  and  strengthening  to  the  life  of  the  soul  than 
a  visit  made  in  a  Christian  spirit  to  a  house  of  mourning.  We 
meet  Jesus  there  :  '  /was  sick,  and  ye  visited  Me  :  inasmuch  as 
ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  My  brethren,  ye 
have  done  it  unto  Me.' 

The  other  great  division  of  'pure  and  undefiled  religious 
service'  to  which  James  draws  our  attention,  is  personal  purity 
of  life:  ^  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  worlds  This 
covers  the  whole  range.  '  The  worW  here,  as  often  in  Scrip- 
ture, particularly  in  the  writings  of  the  Apostle  John,  designates 
the  men  and  things  here  below,  regarded  as  pervaded  and 
controlled  by  the  great  evil  spirit  whom  Jesus  Himself  called 
the  *  prince  of  this  world.'  By  nature  we  are  all  '  of  the  world  ;' 
but  'as  many  as  receive  Jesus  Christ,  to  them  gives  He  power 
to  become  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  His 
name,' — and  these  '  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  He  is  not  of 
the  world  ;'  for  to  this  end  '  He  gave  Himself  for  our  sins,  that 
He  might  deliver  us  from  the  present  evil  world,  according  to 
the  will  of  our  God  and  Father.'  Yet,  being  not  taken  '  out  of 
the  world,'  but  left  in  it  for  a  time,  to  be  its  '  lights,'  its  '  salt,' 
and  for  these  ends  expressly  called  on  to  have  much  inter- 
course with  the  men  of  the  world,  we  are  liable  to  be  conta- 
minated by  its  evil,  and  thus  be  but  dim  'lights  ' — 'salt'  that 
has  almost  '  lost  its  savour.'      Hence  the  urgency  of  Bible 


VER.  2  7-]  True  Religious  Service.  167 

pleading  with  Christians,  *  Be  not  conformed  to  this  world ;' 
*  Love  not  the  world,  neither  the  things  that  are  in  the  world,' 
and  the  like.  The  duty  of  the  child  of  God  is  '  to  keep  himself 
unspotted  from  the  world,' — his  character  ever  a  garment  of 
stainless  white.  God  alone  can  so  'keep'  us,  and  His  gracious 
help  will  be  bestowed  abundantly ;  for  the  prayer  of  the  great 
High  Priest  for  His  people — Him  whom  the  Father  '  heareth 
always' — is,  that  God  will  'keep  them  from  the  evil.'  But  while 
poiver  is  only  from  Him,  there  must  be  care  with  us.  '  Keep 
thyself  pure,'  says  Paul  to  Timothy.  We  must  '  work  out  our 
own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,'  for  the  very  reason 
that  we  know  'it  is  God' — the  God  of  all  grace — 'which 
worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  His  good  pleasure.' 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  the  two  characteristics  which 
James  describes — active  love  to  the  needy,  and  personal  purity 
— belong  both  to  every  truly  Christian  life.  There  are,  I  doubt 
not,  non-Christian  people,  who,  from  a  certain  constitutional 
delicacy  of  spirit,  favoured  by  education  and  surroundings, 
live  a  life  of  beautiful  personal  purity,  but  have  little  love  or 
care  for  others.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  not  a  few 
kindly  worldlings  and  sensualists,  men  personally  given  to 
drunkenness  perhaps,  or  uncleanness,  or  profanity,  or  utter 
frivolity,  who  yet,  simply  from  natural  temperament,  from 
impulse  and  not  from  principle,  pity  and  help  those  who  are 
in  trouble.  But  in  '  religious  service  pure  and  undefiled,'  in 
the  life  which  is  the  legitimate  '  issue '  from  a  renewed  heart, 
are  found  both  benevolence  and  purity  of  character.  Active 
love  is  an  essential  element  in  it  no  less  than  self-restraint,  and 
self-restraint  no  less  than  active  love. 

Looking  over  the  whole  of  the  apostle's  statement  in  this 
verse,  then,  brethren,  we  find  him  here,  as  so  often,  echoing 
declarations  made  by  his  Master  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount ; 
for  Jesus  too  has  told  us  that  piety  exhibits  its  presence  in  us, — 
that  we  take  rank  among  the  'blessed'  of  God, — when  we  are 
'merciful,'  and  when  we  are  'pure  in  heart.'  How  perfect 
such  teaching  !  How  divine  !  And  how  gloriously  complete 
is  the  model  that  the  Lord's  own  earthly  life  has  set  before  us ! 


1 68         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.       |_ch.  i. 

His  coming  from  heaven  was  '  to  visit  the  fatherless  in  their 
affliction,'  the  fatherless  who  had  criminally  made  themselves 
such  by  wilful  alienation  from  their  true  home, — and  to  bring 
them  gladness  by  recalling  them  to  their  Father's  presence  and 
grace.  '  He  went  about  doing  good ;'  and  when  imagination 
calls  Him  up  before  our  view  in  His  ministry,  the  ear  seems 
at  once  to  hear  a  '  Son,  Daughter,  be  of  good  cheer :  go  in 
peace ;  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee.'  If  we  seek  a  representa- 
tive scene  from  the  records  of  that  wondrous  life,  none  more 
naturally  occurs  than  this :  '  When  He  came  nigh  to  the  gate 
of  the  city,  behold,  there  was  a  dead  man  carried  out,  the  only 
son  of  his  mother,  and  she  was  a  widow :  and  much  people  of 
the  city  was  with  her.  And  when  the  Lord  saw  her,  He  had 
compassion  on  her,  and  said  unto  her,  Weep  not.  And  He 
came  and  touched  the  bier :  and  they  that  bare  him  stood 
still.  And  He  said,  Young  man,  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise.  And 
he  that  was  dead  sat  up,  and  began  to  speak.  And  He  de- 
livered him  to  his  mother.'  Certainly  no  embodiment  in 
'  religious  service '  of  love  and  consecration  to  such  a  Saviour 
can  be  more  fitting  than  '  to  visit  the  fatherless  aiid  widows  in 
their  affliction.^  And  amidst  the  freest  converse  with  the  men 
c^f  the  world — often  the  most  depraved — for  the  working  out  of 
His  purposes  of  love,  yet  the  exquisite  beauty,  the  unsullied 
purity,  of  His  character,  stood  out  clear  and  glorious.  By  His 
bitterest  foes  the  challenge  remained  and  remains  unanswered, 
'Which  of  you  convinceth  Me  of  sin?'  He  '^kept  Himself 
imspotted  from  the  world;''  so  that,  'when  the  prince  of  this 
world  came,  he  had  nothing  in  Him.' 


CH.  II.]  Respect  of  Persons.  169 


J 


X. 

RESPECT    OF    PERSONS. 

*My  brethren,  have  not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord 
of  glory,  with  respect  of  persons.  2  For  if  there  come  unto  your 
assembly  a  man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  goodly  apparel,  and  there  come 
in  also  a  poor  man,  in  vile  raiment  ;  3  And  ye  have  respect  to  him 
that  weareth  the  gay  clothing,  and  say  unto  him.  Sit  thou  here  in  a 
good  place  ;  and  say  to  the  poor.  Stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here  under 
my  footstool  ;  4  Are  ye  not  then  partial  in  yourselves,  and  are  be- 
come judges  of  evil  thoughts?  5  Hearken,  my  beloved  brethren, — 
Hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world,  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs 
of  the  kingdom  which  He  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  Him  ? 
6  But  ye  have  despised  the  poor.  Do  not  rich  men  oppress  you,  and 
draw  you  before  the  judgment-seats  ?  7  Do  not  they  blaspheme  that 
worthy  name  by  the  which  ye  are  called  ?' — James  ii.  1-7. 

ANEW  section  of  the  Epistle  begins  here, — connected, 
however,  naturally  and  obviously  with  the  preceding. 
'Genuine  religion  in  the  heart,'  the  apostle  has  said,  'will  express 
itself  in  holiness  of  life,  in  a  lofty  morality,  comprising  personal 
purity  and  earnest  devotion  to  the  glory  of  God  through  the 
good  of  men :  if  a  man  love  God,  he  will  strive  to  keep  God's 
law  of  liberty.'  But  certain  serious  violations  of  this  law 
had  become  lamentably  common  in  the  Christian  communi- 
ties, and  were  doing  much  to  neutralize  their  influence  for 
good.  One  of  these  James  proceeds  now  to  point  out  and 
reprove. 

'  Aly  brethren,  have  not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Lord  of  glory,  with  respect  of  persojis.''  The  words  that  are 
last  in  our  version  stand  in  the  original  immediately  after 
'  My  brethren,'  and  on  them  rests  the  emphasis  :  thus,  '  Do  not 
with  respect  of  persons  hold  the  faith.'     A  peculiar  pungency, 


1 70         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.     [ch.  ii. 

which  can  hardly  be  represented  in  an  English  translation,  is 
given  to  the  reproof  in  the  original  by  the  particle  rendered 
'with,'  strictly  ^ in.'  Its  force  is  similar  to  that  which  it  has 
in  the  sixth  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  where  '/;/  faith'  means 
'enveloped  in  faith  as  in  an  atmosphere.'  So  here,  'in  the 
midst  of,  or  environed  by,  respect  of  persons ;'  respect  of 
persons,  too,  shown  in  many  ways,  for  the  noun  in  the  original 
is  plural.  The  meaning  is  pretty  fully  brought  out  by  such  a 
free  rendering  as,  '  Let  not  respect  of  persons  be  a  character- 
istic of  the  manner  in  which  you  maintain  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.' 

You  observe  how  clearly  the  apostle  teaches  here  that  the 
primary  or  fundamental  element  in  religion — the  root  of  the 
divine  life  in  man — is  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  His 
particular  purpose  in  writing  the  Epistle  leads  him  to  dwell 
mainly  on  the  practical  side  of  Christianity,  the  'pure  and 
undefiled  religious  service  before  our  God  and  Father,'  of 
which  he  has  just  spoken — the  fruits  rather  than  the  root. 
But  in  this  verse,  especially  taken  in  connection  with  the  sin- 
gularly rich  and  precious  statement  of  truth  that  he  has  given 
in  the  eighteenth  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  we  are  very  plainly 
taught  that  hearty  acceptance  of  God's  testimony  concern- 
ing His  Son  is  the  spring  from  which  reviving,  fertilizing, 
purifying  streams  flow  forth  throughout  the  whole  man.  Chris- 
tians, like  all  their  fellow-men,  were  by  nature  dead  in  sins  ; 
but  of  His  own  will  God  originated  life  in  them,  and  this 
through  the  word  of  truth  regarding  Jesus,  received  by 
faith.  This  is  manifestly  the  doctrine  set  forth  in  these  two 
verses.  To  be  a  Christian,  therefore,  is  fundamentally  to 
have  faith  in  Christ.  To  the  anxious  sinner  inquiring  the 
way  of  salvation,  James,  no  less  decidedly  than  Paul,  says, 
'  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.' 
James,  no  less  decidedly  than  Paul,  '  counted  all  things  but 
loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  his 
Lord, — yea,  counted  all  things  but  dung,  that  he  might  win 
Christ,  and  be  found  in  Him,  not  having  his  own  righteous- 
ness, which  was  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith 


VER.  I.]  Respect  of  Persons.  171 

of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith.'  It  is  of 
importance  to  notice  this,  because  the  last  verses  of  the  first 
chapter  have  been  taken  by  many  as  containing  a  description 
of  the  whole  of  religion,  and  therefore  as  teaching  a  doctrine 
which  the  apostle  would  have  rejected  with  abhorrence ;  and 
because  in  the  latter  part  of  the  present  chapter  there  are 
modes  of  expression  that  many  have  deemed  to  be  directly 
opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone,  as  fully 
set  forth  by  Paul. 

To  all  candid  thinkers  on  the  subject,  it  must  be  evident 
that  a  character,  however  outwardly  beautiful,  of  which  love 
to  God  is  not  the  soul,  the  grand  animating  principle,  cannot 
be  pleasing  in  His  sight ;  for  moral  beauty  that  springs  only 
from  earthly  motives  is  but  a  subtler  form  of  the  disloyalty 
to  the  King  of  the  universe,  which  elsewhere  reveals  itself  in 
gross  outward  sin.  The  first  and  great  commandment  in  the 
moral  law — inevitably  such,  our  consciences  tell  us,  if  there  is 
a  God  at  all — is,  '  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  ; '  and  a 
scheme  of  morality  which  puts  this  out  of  view  is  as  defective 
as  a  scheme  of  the  planetary  system  which  should  leave  out  of 
account  the  relations  of  the  planets  to  the  central  sun.  Now 
sin  has  prejudiced  men  against  God,  and  nothing  but  the 
sight  of  His  true  character  which  faith  in  Christ  gives  will 
teach  us  to  love  and  revere  Him.  To  believe  in  Christ  is 
therefore  the  very  first  step  towards  a  true  morality  —  a 
morality  pleasing  to  God.  '  Then  said  they  unto  Him,  What 
shall  we  do,  that  we  might  work  the  works  of  God  ?  Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  them.  This  is  the  work  of  God,  that 
ye  believe  on  Him  whom  He  hath  sent.'  '  Abide  in  Me,  and 
I  in  you.  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it 
abide  in  the  vine,  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  Me  :  for 
without  Me  ye  can  do  nothing.' 

'  Talk  they  of  morals  ?     O,  Thou  bleeding  Lamb, 
The  grand  morality  is  love  of  Thee. ' 

On  the  believer  in  Jesus,  God  looks  with  complacency  and 
tender  Fatherly  affection  ;  and  his  good  works,  being  prompted 


1 72         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

by  his  faith,  are  really  a  religious  service,  a  worship,  a  sacri- 
fice, with  which  '  God  is  well  pleased.'  ^ 

In  speaking  of  '  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  our 
apostle  goes  on  to  add  to  that  ordinary  name  the  designation, 
*  The  Lord  of  glory ^  The  words  '  The  Lord''  here  are,  as  you 
see  from  their  being  printed  in  italics  in  our  Bibles,  a  supple- 
ment inserted  by  the  translators  from  the  preceding  expression. 
Now  the  connection  of  the  ^  of  glory'  may  be,  and  has  been, 
supposed  to  be  different.  For  example,  it  may  be  brought 
into  immediate  dependence  on  the  '  faith,'  and  we  may  con- 
strue thus, — '  the  faith  of  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,' 
that  is,  faith  in  His  exaltation,  regarded  as  an  expression  of  the 
Father's  perfect  satisfaction  with  His  Son's  atoning  work  ;  or 
thus, — '  faith  (resting  on  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ)  in  the  glory,' 
that  is,  in  the  future  glory  of  His  people.  The  latter  of  these 
very  well  brings  out  the  argument  which  we  shall  see  to  be 
involved  in  the  'of  glory;'  but  this  is  done  with  at  least 
equal  clearness  and  force  by  the  construction  of  our  trans- 
lators,— which  seems  to  be,  on  the  whole,  the  most  natural. 
Jesus  is  '  the  Lord  of  glory,'  in  all  the  grand  generality  of  the 
expression :  .the  Possessor,  as  God,  of  an  essential,  infinite 
glory  :  the  King  of  glory,  who  as  Mediator  has  *  sat  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens,  all  power  given 

1  '  Do  not  deceive  yourself  in  forming  an  estimate  of  your  own  religious 
character.  If  you  have  no  faith' in  Christ,  no  affiance  of  the  heart  in  Him, 
no  belief  in  the  expiating  power  of  His  blood,  you  lack  the  substantial  part 
of  true  religion.  Harbour  not  a  thought  of  this  kind  :  "  If  I  am  benevolent 
to  my  fellow-creatures,  and  pure  in  my  moral  conduct,  is  not  that  enough, 
without  troubling  my  head  about  principles  and  motives  in  maintaining 
any  particular  doctrine?"  Emphatically,  it  is  not  enough.  Wilt  thou 
know,  O  vain  man,  that  works  without  faith  are  a  shadowy,  unsubstantial 
thing, — a  thin,  impalpable  vapour,  which  escapes  us  when  we  try  to  grasp 
it, — an  apparent  superficial  motive-power,  but  not  at  all  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  heart,  the  conscience,  and  the  springs  of  the  character  !  Flatter 
not  thyself,  as  thousands  of  thousands  have  done  to  their  eternal  ruin,  on 
the  mere  possession  of  benevolence  and  integrity.  If  thou  hast  no  faith 
in  Jesus,  thou  hast  not  even  the  outward  appearance  of  true  religion,  not 
even  the  show  of  it,  to  advance  at  the  last  great  day.' — Dean  Goul- 
burn's  Occasiojial Sermons f  pp.  44,  45. 


VER.  I.]  Respect  of  Persons.  173 

Him  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  and  a  name  which  is  above 
every  name ;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow, 
of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the 
earth  ;  and  that  every  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father:'  the  Fountain  of  glory, 
from  whom,  in  whom,  alone  we  can  have  true  glory. 

*  Of  your  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  of  glory,' 
then,  says  our  apostle,  '  let  not  respect  of  persons  be  a  character- 
istic.^ To  a  thoughtful  Christian  mind  this  simple  statement 
of  the  injunction  contains  overwhelming  argument  in  its  sup- 
port. Faith  in  Christ  and  respect  of  persons  are  diametrically 
opposed  to  each  other ;  so  that  in  proportion  as  the  one  is 
cherished,  the  other  necessarily  is  weakened.  To  speak  of 
respect  of  persons,  therefore,  as  a  *  characteristic '  of  faith  in 
Christ,  or,  more  exactly,  of  having  our  faith  '  enveloped  in 
respectings  of  persons,'  is  almost  a  contradiction  in  terms ; 
and  thus  the  form  into  which  the  apostle  throws  his  precept 
exhibits  with  singular  pungency  and  force  the  inconsistency 
and  absurdity  of  professing  Christians  whose  conduct  seemed 
to  show  that  they  were  attempting  to  combine  the  two.  Faith 
in  Christ  is  a  cordial  acceptance  of  the  gospel  of  God's  mercy, 
which  is  not  a  message  to  this  or  that  class  of  men,  but  to  men 
universally,  to  men  regarded  from  that  moral  point  of  view  in 
which  we  all  by  nature  constitute  one  class, — sinners,  who  have 
earned  death  as  our  wages.  A  man  who  believes  the  gospel 
has  come  to  feel  himself  the  fellow-sinner  of  all  around,  has 
become  convinced  that  his  relations  to  God  are  of  immeasur- 
ably greater  moment  than  any  he  can  hold  to  his  fellow-crea- 
tures, and  has  passed  into  a  sphere  in  which  he  recognises  all 
his  fellow-Christians  as  in  a  high  and  peculiar  sense  his  brethren, 
members  with  him,  through  the  grace  of  their  common  Saviour, 
of  the  family  of  God.  In  this  family,  rich  and  poor,  wise  and 
feeble-witted,  those  who  aforetime  were  respectable  worldlings 
and  those  who  aforetime  were  bold  sinners,  meet  together  on 
terms  of  perfect  equality ;  their  salvation  is  a  '  common  salva- 
tion ; '  the  faith  of  poor  Joseph  is  '  Uke  precious  faith '  with 
that  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 


1 74         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

Groaning  under  the  inequalities  and  oppressions  of  the 
world,  political  enthusiasts  have  thought  that  by  simple 
changes  in  forms  of  government  complete  deliverance  could 
be  attained.  A  foolish  fancy !  Wisely  devised  political 
arrangements  can  do  something  to  benefit  men's  condition  ; 
but  so  long  as  sin  reigns,  true  brotherhood  can  be  only 
a  vision,  for  the  tendencies  of  moral  evil  are  always  to  dis- 
union and  hatred.  Satan  'was  a  murderer  from  the  begin- 
ning.' That  the  revolutionary  convulsions  of  France  in  the 
end  of  last  century,  which  were  expected  by  so  many  honest 
spirits  to  bring  in  an  age  of  liberty,  and  equality,  and  frater- 
nity, should  in  fact  bring  in  a  *  reign  of  terror '  and  a  crushing 
despotism,  was  nothing  more  than  natural,  when  sin  and  un- 
belief were  rampant,  religious  influences  contemptuously  thrust 
aside,  and  nought  leant  on  but  the  arm  of  flesh.  But  the  church 
of  Christ  is  a  brotherhood,  a  '  fraternity,'  distinguished  by  true 
'equality,'  and  regulated  by  the  law  of  'liberty.'  For  'respect 
of  persons  '  to  enter  here,  for  regard  to  worldly  distinctions  to 
intrude  itself  as  a  governing  influence  in  the  sphere  of  religious 
feeling  and  action, — this  is  utterly  aUen  from  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel.  The  incongruity  of  this  with  '  the  faith  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ '  is  especially  obvious  when  we  remember  that  He 
is  the  '  Lord  of  glory.'  In  the  light  of  His  glory,  all  worldly 
distinctions  should  be  seen  to  be  very  trifling.  In  His  house, 
among  His  brethren,  to  give  importance  to  the  fleeting  glories 
of  earth  should  be  deemed  an  insult  to  the  riches  of  His  grace, 
from  which  comes  true  lasting  glory  to  all  His  people.  For 
even  now  allXxxi^o.  believers,  though  they  may  be  clothed  in  rags, 
and  glad  to  receive  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  rich  men's  tables, 
are  children  of  God,  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty; 
and  there  awaits  them  all  '  an  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory,'  seeing  that  'when  He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like 
Him,'  and  He  will  take  us  home  '  to  sit  upon  His  throne,'  and 
enjoy  all  the  blessedness  and  honour  of  the  heavenly  kingdom. 
'  My  brethren,  have  not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Lord  of  glory,  with  respect  of  persons.' 

I  need  hardly  say  that  nothing  in  the  apostle's  precept  is 


VERS.  2-4-]  Respect  of  Persons.  175 

intended  to  forbid  the  fullest  recognition  in  ordinary  life  of 
the  distinctions  of  society.  It  can  never  be  wrong — indeed, 
the  whole  spirit  of  Scripture,  and  many  express  injunctions, 
call  upon  us — to  give  to  those  that  God  in  His  providence 
has  placed  in  positions  of  authority,  or  of  greater  prominence 
and  influence  than  ourselves,  the  customary  marks  of  respect, 
not  in  any  spirit  of  mean  subservience,  but  in  the  spirit  of 
freemen — 'the  Lord's  freedmen.'  We  are  to  'render  to  all 
their  due,  honour  to  whom  honour.'  The  principle  stated  by 
our  apostle  here  is,  that  in  matters  where  Christians  have  to 
act  simply  and  distinctively  as  professors  of  Christianity,  members 
of  Clirisfs  church,  not  as  citizens  or  members  of  general  society, 
they  are  not  to  allow  worldly  considerations  of  any  kind  to  sway 
them. 

He  illustrates  his  meaning  in  the  verses  that  follow,  by  an 
instance.  The  case  is  given  in  the  form  of  a  supposition ; 
but  it  is  plain  that  James  knew  well  that  such  an  incident  as 
he  describes  often  occurred  in  the  meetings  of  the  Christians. 
'  For  if  there  come  unto  your  assembly  a  man  with  a  gold  ring, 
in  goodly  apparel,  and  there  come  in  also  a  poor  ma7i  in  vile  rai- 
meiit ;  and  ye  have  respect  to  him  that  zveareth  the  gay  clothing, 
and  say  unto  him.  Sit  thou  here  in  a  good  place;  and  say  to  the 
poor.  Stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here  mider  my  footstool :  are  ye  not 
then  partial  in  yourselves,  and  are  become  judges  of  evil  thoughts  V 

By  some  expositors  the  scene  of  the  incident  here  depicted 
by  the  apostle  is  supposed  to  be  a  sitting  of  the  congregation, 
or  of  the  body  of  elders,  as  a  kind  of  comi,  to  investigate  dis- 
putes among  the  members  of  the  church ;  and  that  the  fault 
pointed  out  is  as  if  in  an  ordinary  court  of  justice,  in  the  trial 
of  a  case  between  a  poor  and  a  rich  man,  the  judges  were  at 
the  very  outset  to  show  marked  favour  to  the  rich.  This  view 
is  founded  mainly  on  the  word  ''judges''  in  the  fourth  verse, 
and  is  thought  to  be  supported  by  ^  synagogue^  which  is  the 
strict  rendering  of  the  word  in  the  second  verse,  given  by  our 
translators  as  '  assembly.^  We  know  that  in  the  Jewish  syna- 
gogues trials  were  held,  and  sometimes  punishment  inflicted ; 
and  there  are  in  the  New  Testament  several  allusions  to  this 


1 76         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  ymnes.     [ch,  ii. 

practice.  1  This  view  of  the  reference  here,  however,  is  not  by 
any  means  required  by  the  fact  that  these  words  are  employed, 
and,  on  the  whole,  appears  unnatural,  ^Judges '  may,  without 
any  difficulty,  be  taken  quite  generally  and  loosely ;  and  the 
use  of  ^ sy?iagogue^  in  an  Epistle  addressed  to  'the  twelve 
tribes  which  are  scattered  abroad,'  seems  merely  to  prove 
what  of  itself  might  have  been  thought  very  likely, — that  in 
many  cases  the  Jewish  members  of  Christian  churches  re- 
tained for  their  place  of  religious  assembly  the  old  name, 
familiar  and  dear  to  them  in  Judaism.  Very  similarly,  we 
ourselves,  if  explaining  to  children  what  '  synagogue '  means, 
should  naturally  enough  describe  it  as  'a  Jewish  church;^  just 
as,  not  unmisleadingly  for  some  readers  perhaps,  the  assertion 
of  the  town-clerk  of  Ephesus,  that  Paul  and  his  company  were 
innocent  of  pillaging  heathen  temples,  takes  with  our  translators 
the  form  of  a  statement  that  they  were  not '  robbers  of  churches  ' 
(Acts  xix.  37). 

There  can  be  little  doubt,  I  think,  that  James  refers  to 
one  of  the  ordinary  meetings  of  the  Christians  for  worship, 
which,  like  our  own,  were  open  to  any  person  who  chose  to 
come  ;^  and  you  observe  how  with  two  or  three  firm  strokes 
the  picture  is  made  to  stand  out  before  us.  The  arrange- 
ments of  the  house  for  the  public  worship  of  the  Christians 
are,  we  must  suppose,  similar  to  those  of  the  synagogue. 
There  are  some  seats  more  prominent  than  the  rest,  probably 
a  little  elevated ;  and  on  these,  the.  '  chief  seats,'  which  in 
the  synagogue  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  loved  to  occupy,  sit, 
no  doubt,  the  elders  and  deacons  of  the  church.  On  these 
brethren,  among  other  more  serious  responsibilities,  rests  the 
duty  of  assigning  seats  to  strangers  who  may  come  into  the 
meeting, — and  who  may  be  either  unbelievers,  heathen  or 
Jewish,  or  Christians  from  other  places.  The  ordinary  con- 
gregation has  assembled,  then,  and  the  seats  are  pretty  fully 
occupied,  when  the  door  opens,  and  two  strangers  enter,  one 
evidently  from  his  dress  and  demeanour  a  person  of  consider- 
able wealth,  the  other  as  plainly  a  poor  man.  One  of  the 
1  See,  for  example,  Acts  xxii.  19.  ^  See  i  Cor.  xiv.  23. 


VER.  4.]  Respect  of  Persons.  177 

office-bearers  immediately  rises,  and  beckoning  to  the  well- 
dressed  man  to  come  forward,  courteously  invites  him  to  sit 
beside  himself,  '  in  a  good  place ; '  while  to  the  poorly  attired 
he  says  carelessly,  'Stand  yonder,  or  sit  here  on  the  floor 
beside  my  footstool.' 

Now,  says  the  apostle,  when  a  scene  like  this  occurs,  '  are 
ye  not  partial  in  yourselves V — rather,  '  do  ye. not  (or,  yet  more 
exactly,  the  case  being  conceived  as  a  fact,  and  the  question 
here  put  as  if  a  narrative  had  been  related,  "did  ye  not") 
waver  in  yourselves  ? '  The  word  is  the  same  as  that  used  in 
the  sixth  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  and  there  rendered  '  waver.' 
The  force  of  the  question  is,  clearly,  '  Did  you  not  show  that 
your  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  of  glory,  was 
very  weak,  or  very  dim  ?  Did  you  not  evince  forgetfulness  of 
the  grand  principles  which  you  profess  to  believe  ?  Did  you 
not,  by  your  special  desire  to  secure,  through  your  deference 
and  attention,  the  rich  man  as  a  member  of  the  church,  show 
a  want  of  trust  in  Jesus,  and  a  reliance  on  an  arm  of  flesh,  as 
if  His  kingdom  7vere  of  this  world  ? ' 

'  Ajid  are  {ye  not)  become  judges  of  evil  thoughts  V  The 
natural  meaning  of  the  authorized  version  is  :  '  Have  you  not 
constituted  yourselves  judges  that  evil  thoughts  exist  in  the 
mind  of  the  poor  man,  so  as  to  call  for  your  exhibition  of  cold- 
ness or  harshness,  but  that  such  are  absent  from  the  soul  of 
the  rich  man  ? '  But  the  more  natural  and  probable  construc- 
tion is  to  regard  the  '  evil  thoughts'  as  belonging  to  the  'judges' 
themselves, — as  we  speak  of  '  judges  of  integrity,'  '  of  wisdom,' 
or  the  like,  in  the  sense,  '  who  are  men  of  integrity,'  or  '  of 
wisdom.'  In  the  sixth  verse  of  the  eighteenth  chapter  of 
Luke,  '  the  unjust  judge '  is,  strictly  rendered,  '  the  judge  of 
injustice;'  and  similarly,  in  the  twenty-fifth  verse  of  the  first 
chapter  of  James,  '  a  forgetful  hearer '  is,  strictly,  '  a  hearer  of 
forgetfulness.'  So,  in  the  verse  before  us,  the  meaning  is 
'  evil-minded  judges.'  The  apostle  here  charges  those  who 
acted  in  the  way  he  has  described  with  two  faults.  The  one 
was  their  constituting  themselves  judges  of  character  at  all. 
Here,  I  apprehend,  as  so  often  in  the  Epistle,  we  have  a 

M 


1 78         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames,     [ch.  ii. 

reminiscence  of  words  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  'Judge 
not'  'When  one  calmly  considers  such  conduct  as  I  have 
described,'  James  says,  '  it  means  that  you  gratuitously  and 
rashly  made  yourselves  judges  of  character,  and  expressed 
your  judgment  by  your  doings.'  But  secondly,  they  had 
judged  on  altogether  false  and  immoral  principles,  such  as 
that  the  soul  of  a  man  who  has  good  clothes  and  a  gold  ring 
is  therefore  a  better  soul,  more  worth  saving,  than  the  soul  of 
a  poor  man, — that  this  world's  wealth  of  itself,  apart  from  all 
other  considerations,  entitles  a  man  to  prominence  among  the 
brethren  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Partiality  of  this  kind  was  nowise  confined  to  the  time  of 
James.  Springing  as  it  does  from  the  carnality  which  is 
found  by  nature  in  every  human  heart,  and  which  leaves  some 
of  its  roots  of  bitterness  even  in  regenerate  souls,  its  fruits 
show  themselves  in  the  church  in  all  ages.  Literal  parallels 
to  the  case  here  described  by  the  apostle  would  not  be  hard 
to  find  among  us.  You  find  exactly  the  same  tendency  often 
showing  itself,  too,  when  congregations  are  called  on  to  elect 
their  spiritual  office-bearers.  Certainly,  the  mere  fact  that 
they  elect  a  Aian  of  wealth  or  general  influence  by  no  means 
proves,  of  itself,  that  this  spirit  has  been  at  work ;  for  where 
the  essential  spiritual  qualifications  are  present — true  and  ardent 
piety,  and  Christian  intelligence  and  judgment, — then  wealth 
and  influence  are  to  a  certain  extent  additional  recommenda- 
tions, seeing  that  they  are  in  themselves  means  of  usefulness, 
which  can  be  turned  to  special  account  by  one  occupying  a 
prominent  position  in  the  church.  Yet  there  is  always  great 
danger  of  a  congregation  being  led  away  by  external  glitter  to 
elect  persons  spiritually  unsuitable.  Again,  spiritual  overseers 
are  in  hazard  of  paying  but  slight  attention  to  delinquencies 
of  the  rich,  whilst  under  similar  circumstances  the  poor  would 
have  been  sharply  dealt  with.  Ministers  are  under  some  temp- 
tation, too — occasionally,  I  could  suppose,  very  strong  temp- 
tation—  to  keep  back,  or  exhibit  with  modified  colouring, 
aspects  of  truth  which  they  have  reason  to  believe  unpalatable 
to  some  of  the  wealthy  among  their  hearers.     Everything  of 


VERS.  5-7.]  Respect  of  Pei'sons.  1 79 

this  kind  obviously  comes  under  the  sweep  of  James's  rebuke 
in  the  passage  before  us. 

Observe  the  stress  which  God  lays  on  what  we  are  apt  to 
deem  little  things.  For  our  '  idle  words '  He  tells  we  shall  be 
called  to  account.  Looking  over  the  incident  that  James  has 
described,  we  can  suppose  it  very  likely  that  neither  the  rich 
man,  nor  the  poor  man,  nor  the  person  who  assigned  them 
their  respective  places,  would  think  much  on  the  subject; 
but  God  marked  it  with  condemnation.  In  a  ship  becalmed 
near  the  shore,  one  can  imagine  the  captain  intently  watching 
pieces  of  loose  sea-weed  as  they  drift  past :  they  are  small  and 
worthless,  but  they  show  the  experienced  eye  the  direction  and 
the  rate  of  dangerous  currents.  Even  so,  little  things  in  con- 
duct often  show  the  direction  and  the  force  of  strong  currents 
of  character. 

In  the  three  verses  that  follow,  the  apostle  exhibits  the 
wickedness  and  the  folly  of  such  conduct  as  he  has  described, 
bringing  out  forcibly  the  justice  of  his  statement  that  persons 
guilty  of  it  were  '  evil-minded  judges,' — acting  on  utterly  un- 
christian principles.  Affectionately  and  earnestly  he  solicits 
their  diligent  attention  to  his  observations  :  '  Hearken,  my  be- 
loved brethren^  The  particular  incident  he  had  sketched  might 
seem  an  absolute  trifle ;  but  the  state  of  feeling  which  revealed 
itself  by  that  incident  was  seriously  dishonouring  to  God,  and 
antagonistic  to  the  progress  of  His  cause  in  the  world.  The 
principles  involved,  therefore,  claimed  very  careful  considera- 
tion. The  argument  following — which,  according  to  a  favourite 
style  of  James,  is  set  forth  in  a  series  of  pointed  questions — 
is  to  this  effect :  '  In  your  church  procedure  you  pay  much 
attention  to  the  wealthy,  but  disregard  the  poor.  Now,  while 
such  conduct  under  any  circumstances  reveals  a  mean  soul, 
yet  for  a  man  who  seeks  his  portion  simply  in  this  world  it  is 
no  doubt  natural,  and  often  from  his  point  of  view  prudent. 
But  you,  according  to  your  profession,  have  loftier  aims ;  and 
regarding  heaven  as  your  home,  you  desire  to  breathe  even  on 
earth  a  heavenly  spirit,  taking  God's  estimate  of  everything  as 
yours,  and  trying  to  be  in  character  like  Him.     Think,  then, 


i8o         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

how  very  far  you  are,  in  this  respect  of  persons  which  you 
practise,  from  reflecting  the  divine  image ;  nay,  how  directly 
opposed  your  conduct  is  to  His  whom  you  call  your  Father. 
Has  not  the  whole  history  of  the  church  proved  that  mainly 
from  the  class  of  those  whom  the  world,  according  to  its 
standard  of  reckoning,  counts  poor,  God  in  His  sovereignty 
has  chosen  men  and  women  to  be,  through  faith,  truly  and  en- 
duringly  rich,  and  to  be,  as  His  children  in  Christ,  heirs  of  the 
blessedness  and  glory  of  the  heavenly  kingdom  ?  But  the  poor 
man  of  my  story,  who  came  into  your  assembly — a  representa- 
tive of  the  class  so  honoured  by  God — ye  treated  with  dis- 
honour. On  the  other  hand,  rich  men,  simply  because  they 
are  rich,  ye  honour.  As  Christians,  you  profess  to  believe  that 
the  only  thing  truly  worthy  of  honour  in  God's  creatures  is 
holiness,  devotion  to  His  service,  helpfulness  to  His  cause, — 
the  reflection  of  His  character,  which  you  honour  supremely. 
Now,  is  wealth  moral  excellence,  or  is  it  necessarily  connected 
with  moral  excellence?  Have  the  rich,  as  a  class,  been  in 
any  age  conspicuously  God-fearing?  Nay,  in  your  own  ex- 
perience, is  it  not  the  rich  that  oppress  you  Christians  ?  Is  it 
not  they  that  drag  you  into  courts  of  justice,  harassing  you  by 
accusations,  simply  because  you  believe  in  Christ  ?  Is  it  not 
they  that  blaspheme  the  infinitely  honourable  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  which  was  named  over  you  when  in  baptism  you 
severed  yourselves  from  the  world,  and  became  His  ?  If  you 
give  special  honour  to  the  class  who,  as  a  class,  thus  dishonour 
Him  and  oppose  His  cause,  do  you  not  make  yourselves 
sharers  in  their  misdeeds,  and  seem  to  be  ashamed  of  being 
associated  with  that  worthy  name?' 

The  fulness  of  this  paraphrase,  and  the  general  simplicity  of 
the  passage,  render  it  unnecessary  to  say  very  much  more  in 
the  way  of  explanation.  You  observe  that  the  apostle  speaks 
of  *  the  rich'  and  'the  poor'  as  classes,  in  order  to  show  clearly 
the  wickedness  of  the  conduct  of  those  whom  he  is  reproving ; 
for  they  too  looked  at  the  classes,  despising  this  man  simply 
because  he  was  one  of  the  poor,  and  paying  special  respect  to 
that,  simply  because  he  was  one  of  the  rich.     His  statements, 


VERS.  5-7-]  Respect  of  Persons.  i8i 

then,  being  made  generally  of  the  two  classes,  naturally  admit 
exceptions,  it  may  be  many.  A  vast  number  of  the  poor,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  are  not  spiritually  rich;  and  some  of  the  rich 
are  truly  honourable,  because  they  love  and  revere  the  worthy 
name  of  Jesus.  And  yet,  beyond  all  question,  wealth  has  been 
in  all  ages  a  serious  obstacle  to  men's  becoming  religious.  The 
abundance  of  present  and  tangible  good,  instead  of  awakening 
thankfulness  and  devotion  to  the  Giver,  far  oftener  deadens 
all  longing  after  nobler  and  abiding  sources  of  pleasure.  In 
the  Psalmist's  days  the  church  was  '  fhe  congregation  of  God's 
poor  : '  the  apostles  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  plainly  all  but 
a  very  few  of  those  who  '  heard  Him  gladly,'  were  poor 
men ;  and  in  every  age  since,  it  has  been  found  that  '  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble '  enrolled  themselves  under  the  banner 
of  the  Captain  of  salvation,  or  at  least  so  '  fought  the  good 
fight  of  faith '  as  to  prove  that  they  were  sincerely  on  the  Lord's 
side. 

The  spiritual  exaltation  of  the  outwardly  poor  James 
ascribes,  in  language  as  explicit  as  Paul  ever  employs,  to 
God's  sovereign  election.  Poverty  is  not  an  excellence  or 
ground  of  desert,  any  more  than  wealth  is  in  itself  a  demerit ; 
and  the  impenitent  poor  will  receive  righteous  condemnation 
and.  punishment  as  well  as  the  impenitent  rich.  *  God  hath 
chosen  the  poor.'  Our  Lord  pointed  to  the  fact  that  by  Him 
'  to  the  poor  the  gospel  was  preached,'  as  one  evidence  that 
He  was  '  He  that  should  come,'  God's  commissioned  and 
anointed  Servant;  and  that  any  of  them  welcome  the  glad 
tidings  proclaimed  to  them,  is  due, to  God's  spontaneous  grace, 
for  '  of  His  own  will  begat  He  us  with  the  word  of  truth.' 
'  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  Thy  sight'  Ac- 
cordingly the  being  '  rich  in  faith''  is  the  result  of  the  'choos- 
ing '  by  God.  '  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings 
in  heavenly  places  in  Christ ;  according  as  He  hath  chosen  us  in 
Him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy 
and  without  blame  before  Him  in  love^  The  full  exhibition  of 
James's  meaning  is,  '  Hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  in  the 


1 82         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

world  to  be  in  faith  rich  ;'  as  when  we  say,  '  The  men  of  Israel 
chose  David  king,'  that  is,  '  to  be  king.' 

'  The  poor  as  regards  the  world '  (for  this  seems  the  most 
natural  meaning  of  the  reading  found  in  the  oldest  manu- 
scripts) become,  through  God's  grace,  '■rich  infaithi'  'Faith' 
here  may  be  conceived  as  the  wealth  in  which  they  are  rich, 
as  elsewhere  (Eph.  ii.  4)  God  is  described  as  'rich  in  mercy  :' 
and  this  is  undoubtedly  the  sense  that  first  suggests  itself  for 
the  words.  The  apostle's  purpose,  however,  is  evidently  to 
set  over  against  worldly  poverty  spiritual  riches  generally,  not 
merely  wealth  in  one  particular  grace ;  and  thus  it  seems 
better  to  take  the  meaning  '  rich  through  faith,'  or  '  rich  in  the 
sphere  of  faith,'  as  contrasted  with  that  of  sight, — which  the 
original  words  will  bear  quite  as  well  as  that  first  mentioned. 
The  treasures,  then,  are  all  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit — the  peace, 
and  wisdom,  and  holiness  which  Christians  enjoy  through  their 
faith.  They  have  this  spiritual  wealth  even  now,  and  their 
prospects  are  ineffably  lofty.  Being  through  faith  children 
of  God,  they  are,  '  if  children,  then  heirs,  heirs  of  God,  and 
joint-heirs  with  Christ,'  '  heirs  of  the  kingdom,^  to  whom  Jesus 
'  will  grant  to  sit  with  Him  in  His  throne,  even  as  He  is  set 
down  with  His  Father  in  His  throne.'  To  every  true  believer 
this  glorious  future  is  absolutely  secured  by  the  assurances  of 
Him  whp  cannot  lie.  '  He  hath  promised  the  kingdom  to  them 
that  love  Him.''  Has  not  Jesus  said  in  express  words,  '  Fear 
not,  little  flock  ;  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give 
you  the  kingdom  ? '  And,  indeed,  as  He  tells  us  elsewhere,  in 
a  solemn  and  sublime  passage  of  which  our  apostle's  words  are 
plainly  a  reminiscence,  '  the  kingdom '  which  '  the  blessed  of 
His  Father'  are  to  'inherit'  (receive  as  'heirs')  has  been  ^pre- 
pared for  them  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.' 


VER.  8.]  Unity  of  God's  Law.  183 


XL 
UNITY   OF    GOD'S    LAW. 

'  If  ye  fulfil  the  royal  law  according  to  the  scripture,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself,  ye  do  well :  9  But  if  ye  have  respect  to  persons, 
ye  commit  sin,  and  are  convinced  of  the  law  as  transgressors.  10  For 
whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is 
guilty  of  all.  1 1  For  he  that  said,  Do  not  commit  adultery,  said  also. 
Do  not  kill.  Now,  if  thou  commit  no  adulteiy,  yet  if  thou  kill,  thou 
art  become  a  transgressor  of  the  law.' — James  ii.  8-I1. 

THE  first  two  of  these  verses  obviously  sum  up  the  teach- 
ing of  the  paragraph,  enunciating  the  grand  general 
principle  regarding  our  duty  to  others,  and  declaring  that 
respect  of  persons  is  opposed  to  this.  In  the  eighth  verse 
there  is  in  the  original  an  introductory  particle  which  our 
translators  have  passed  over,  probably  because  they  took  it  as 
equivalent  to  another  (one  of  the  components  of  this),  which 
simply  indicates  tlie  first  part  of  an  antithesis,  and  is  often  left 
unrendered.  But  in  every  other  place  in  the  New  Testament 
where  that  here  employed  is  found,  it  introduces  something 
which  modifies  what  has  preceded,  or  is  in  some  way  divergent 
from  the  line  of  observation  previously  pursued,  having  the 
force  of  'but,'  '  nevertheless,'  '  however.'  It  seems  reasonable 
to  take  it  in  the  same  sense  here.  The  connection  of  thought 
I  apprehend  to  be  somewhat  as  follows :  '  I  have  spoken 
severely,  knowing  that  deference  to  mere  earthly  distinction 
has  sadly  intruded  itself  among  you.  Still  many  of  you  may 
in  this  matter  be  acquitted  by  your  consciences,  and  these  I 
praise.'  'I  have  expressed  myself  sharply.  If,  however,  ye 
(any  of  the  Christian  churches  to  which  the  letter  was  written) 
fulfil  the  royal  law,  then  ye  act  as  Christians  should.  But 
(ver.  9)  let  me  repeat  my  solemn  testimony  and  warning, — If 
ye  have  respect  to  persons,  ye  commit  sin.' 


184         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  o/yajnes.      [ch.  ii. 

The  particular  law  of  God  which  the  apostle  quotes  he  calls  " 
'  royaV  or  'kingly,'  because  it  is  that  which  has  been  given  to 
govern  with  supreme  authority  our  conduct  to  our  fellow-men, 
and  to  control  absolutely  all  principles  and  precepts  on  this 
subject.  To  this  law  all  schemes  and  rules  of  duty  to  our 
fellows  are  subordinate.  However  beautiful  and  justly  influ- 
ential they  may  be  in  their  own  sphere,  this  has  a  '  glory  that 
excelleth,'  this  wears  the  crown  and  sways  the  sceptre.  To  it, 
on  every  matter  of  doubt  and  difficulty  in  this  department  of 
morals,  lies  an  appeal ;  to  it  the  appeal  ought  always  to  be 
carried;  and  its  decision  is  final.  By  '■fulfilling'  this  kingly 
law  the  apostle  means,  as  is  plain  from  the  whole  tone  of  his 
address  here,  honest  and  earnest  endeavour,  in  reliance  on 
divine  strength,  to  keep  it.  This  passage  gives  no  sanction  to 
the  unscriptural  and  dangerous  opinion,  that  it  is  possible  in 
this  life  perfectly  to  obey  God's  law.  He  speaks,  too,  of  '  ful- 
filling the  law  according  to  the  Scripture^  in  distinction  from 
the  glosses  and  perverted  readings  of  it  which  the  carnal  wisdom 
of  the  world  has  devised.  The  truly  wise  man  goes  to  God's 
own  authorized  statute-book;  and  those  who  'fulfil'  the  law, 
as  found  there,  ^  do  well^  act  worthily  of  the  Christian  profes- 
sion, '  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  their  Saviour.' 

The  great  precept  here  called  '  the  royal  law' — '  Thoti  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself ' — occurs  first  in  the  book  of  Levi- 
ticus, in  the  midst  of  a  number  of  injunctions  on  points  of 
detail  (Lev.  xix.  18).  It  was  taken  by  the  Lord  Jesus  and 
placed  in  conjunction  with  the  command,  '  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  mind  ; '  and  these  two  together  were  exhi- 
bited by  Him  as  comprehending  all  moral  duty, — a  summary 
of  the  law  which  God  had  at  first  written  on  man's  heart, 
but  which  now,  through  the  fall,  is  so  sadly  defaced  and  per- 
verted. *0n  these  two  commandments,'  said  Jesus,  'hang 
all  the  law  and  the  prophets'  (Matt.  xxii.  37-40).  The 
'  neighbour '  spoken  of  in  the  law  is  shown  by  the  parable  .of 
the  good  Samaritan,  put  forth  by  the  Lord  in  reply  to  a 
question  on  the  subject,  to  be  every  fellow-member  of  the 


VER.  8.]  Unity  of  God's  Law.  185 

human  race,  or  more  particularly,  with  reference  to  the  active 
display  of  love,  every  human  being  that  God  places  us  in 
circumstances  to  benefit.  Our  sentiment  of  humanity  is  to 
be  co-extensive  with  the  race  of  humanity. 

The  ^  as'  of  the  precept  is  naturally  taken  as  expressive 
both  of  measure  or  degree,  and  of  mode.  We  are  to  love 
our  fellow-men  in  the  same  degree  as  we  love  ourselves  :  and 
we  are  to  love  them  in  the  same  way ;  our  love  for  them  is 
to  have  the  same  characteristics-^sincerity,  activity,  and  con- 
stancy— which  belong  to  that  we  entertain  for  ourselves.  By 
many  interpreters  the  element  of  degree  is  excluded  altogether 
from  the  meaning,  on  the  ground  that,  '  from  the  constitution 
of  human  nature,  obedience  to  such  a  precept  is  impossible.' 
But  I  may  appeal  to  your  own  feelings,  when  the  law  is  quoted 
to  you,  whether  degree  be  not  one  idea — indeed,  the  foremost 
idea — you  attach  to  the  '  as  ; '  so  decidedly,  I  am  sure,  in  the 
case  of  every  one  of  you,  that  very  strong  reasons  would  be 
needed  to  prove  that  this  thought  was  not  intended  to  belong 
to  it.  If  by  '  human  nature,'  in  the  argument  just  cited,  be 
meant  fallen  human  nature,  even  when  brought  under  the 
control  of  Christian  principles,  then  this  line  of  reasoning 
would  go  much  further,  and  would  exclude  at  least  the  re- 
ference to  thought  and  feeling  of  any  of  God's  command- 
ments ;  seeing  that  it  is  impossible  for  us  in  this  life  to,  keep 
our  souls  absolutely  pure — to  refuse  unvaryingly  the  sanction 
of  the  will,  even  for  a  moment,  to  desires  of  a  kind  offensive 
to  God.  Yet,  as  you  know,  our  Lord's  teaching  everywhere, 
and  very  fully  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  is  express  in 
regard  to  this  spiritual  reference,  this  exceeding  breadth,  of 
alt  God's  moral  laws.  If  by  'human  nature,'  however,  be 
meant  our  first  nature,  our  nature  apart  from  depravity  and 
simply  as  it  came  from  the  hand  of  God,  and  if,  from  the 
constitution  of  this,  it  is  impossible  to  love  our  neighbour 
in  the  same  degree  as  ourselves, — then  the  argument  is  con- 
clusive, for  between  God's  creatures  as  He  made  them,  and 
the  laws  intended  for  them  by  Him,  there  cannot  be  any  in- 
congruity.    But  is  the  assumption  true  ?    Do  you  not  think, 


1 86         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y ames.      [ch.ii. 

my  brethren,  that  in  heaven,  where  God's  ideal  of  human 
character  is  realized,  we  shall  love  our  neighbours  as  much 
as  ourselves?  Shall  we  not  rejoice  in  their  joys  as  warmly  as 
in  our  own  ?  Now  God's  moral  laws  always  have  the  ideal 
perfection  of  character  in  view.  They  exhibit  holiness  without 
defect  as  man's  duty,  though  divine  grace  bears  long  with  much 
defect  in  the  actual  obedience  to  them  of  Christ's  people,  and 
is  preparing  us,  through  the  growth  of  earth,  for  the  perfect 
ripeness  of  heaven. 

The  practical  application  of  this  law,  looked  at  as  implying 
equality  of  degree  (as  of  that  other  rule,  which  sets  before  us 
a  yet  loftier  and  more  wonderful  measure  of  love  :  '  This  is 
My  commandment,  that  ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved 
you'),  will  be  somewhat  on  this  wise.  When  the  icy  fingers 
of  selfishness  chill  the  soul,  and  the  whisper  rises,  '  Have  I 
not  loved  my  neighbour,  my  brother,  enough?'  the  still  small 
voice  of  conscience  answers,  '  Be  not  weary  in  well-doing : 
hast  thou  loved  him  with  the  intensity  of  thy  love  to  thy- 
self? Hast  thou  cared  for  his  interests  with  the  same 
ardour  as  for  thine  own?  Hast  thou  shown  to  him.  the 
same  devotedness  as  to  thyself,  or  affection  like  the  love 
with  which  Jesus  devoted  Himself  for  thee  ?* 

Extremely  difficult  questions  of  many  kinds  might  very 
easily  be  suggested  regarding  the  carrying  out  of  this  'royal 
law,'  especially  looked  at  with  relation  to  degree, — diflUculties 
arising  out  of  the  complexity  of  human  relations  and  in- 
terests, and  the  distinctions  in  love  itself,  as  an  aff"ection  of 
instinct,  of  benevolence,  and  of  complacency  or  satisfaction, 
— difficulties  such  as  in  multitudes  of  cases  it  might  be  impos- 
sible wholly  to  solve.  The  solution  of  many  of  them,  I  am 
persuaded,  is  to  be  looked  for  in  the  force  of  the  word  '  neigh- 
bour,' by  which  God  Himself  intimates  that  those  who  are 
brought  near  to  us  in  various  ways  have  the  first  claim  on  our 
love,  considered  as  a  practical  energy.  To  the  priest  and 
Levite  and  Samaritan  the  poor  wounded  man  was  given  by 
God  in  His  providence  as  '  neighbour,'  more  than,  at  the 
time,  to  any  other  people  in  the  world.     The  one  recognised 


VER, 


8.]  Unity  of  GocTs  Law.  187 


and  accepted  the  gift  and  the  duty ;  the  others  failed  to  do  so. 
So  by  kinsmanship,  and  many  other  connections  of  hfe,  which 
the  Christian  judgment  must  discern  for  itself,  God  in  His 
providence  brings  some  of  our  fellows  peculiarly  close  to  us, 
and  constitutes  them  '  neighbours '  in  a  special  sense,  and 
with  a  special  claim.  Christian  love  embraces  the  world  in 
its  interest  and  sympathies  ;  but  its  practical^  action  is  out- 
ward, in  widening  circles.  'Andrew  first  findeth  his  own 
brother,  Simon,  and  saith  unto  him,  We  have  found  the 
Messias.'  '  If  any  provide  not  for  his  own,  especially  for 
those  of  his  own  house,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is 
worse  than  an  infidel.'  '  As  we  have  therefore  opportunity, 
let  us  do  good  unto  all  men,  especially  unto  them  who  are  of 
the  household  of  faith.' 

Besides  equality  of  degree,  the  '■  os''  of  the  ' royal  law ' 
enjoins  also  similarity  in  mode.  Love  to  our  neighbour  is 
to  have  the  same  characteristics,  the  same  sincerity,  activity, 
and  constancy  as  self-love,  and  to  display  itself  in  similar 
ways.  In  this  aspect,  the  precept  before  us  is  obviously 
equivalent  in  force  to  that  of  our  Lord  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  '  All  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the 
prophets  ;' — that  is,  whatsoever  things  you  might  reasonably 
expect  from  them,  were  they  in  your  place,  and  you  in  theirs. 
Observe  the  singular  wisdom  and  beauty  of  such  rules  as  these, 
by  which  the  self-love  that  is  ever  present  with  all  of  us,  and 
the  irregularities  and  excess  of  which  are  the  main  sources  of 
sin,  is  laid  hold  of  and  itself  employed  as  a  guide  to  holiness. 
By  your  zeal  for  the  maintenance  or  advancement  of  your 
own  health,  property,  and  reputation,  by  your  shrinking  from 
anything  that  approaches  to  self-injury,  by  your  eager  desire  (if 
you  be  a  true  Christian)  for  your  own  spiritual  welfare,  your 
growth  in  holiness  and  peace, — by  these  things  be  directed  as 
to  your  duty  to  your  neighbour :  love  him  after  the  same 
fashion.  ^ 

1  This  thought  is  expanded,  with  characteristic  thoroughness  and  force, 
by  Barrow,  in  a  sermon  on  Matt.  xxii.  39. 


1 88         Lee  hires  oil  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

Oh,  brethren,  if  this '  royal  law'  were  carefully  and  constantly 
followed  by  all  in  the  world  who  are  servants  of  Christ, — for 
them  and  those  immediately  around  them  the  blessedness 
and  beauty  of  the  '  new  earth'  would  seem  almost  already 
come,  and  speedily  the  waste  places  everywhere  would  're- 
joice and  blossom  as  the  rose.'  Consistent  obedience  to  this 
precept  throughout  the  church  would  be  of  itself  an  evange- 
listic power  immeasurably  surpassing  anything  else  she  could 
bring  into  action.  '  If  ye  fulfil  the  royal  law  according  to  the 
Scripture,  ye  do  well' 

In  the  ninth  verse,  the  apostle  returns  to  the  supposition 
that  he  had  dwelt  upon  in  the  earlier  verses.  He  knew  that, 
in  reference  to  many  of  the  congregations  to  which  the  letter 
was  written,  it  was  only  too  well  founded  ;  and  he  is  desirous 
to  impress  upon  them  that  conduct  of  the  kind  he  has  de- 
scribed is  in  the  judgment  of  God  no  trifle,  but  a  serious 
moral  offence.  '  If  ye  have  respect  to  persons,  ye  commit  sin.'' 
The  expression  in  the  original  seems  to  convey  even  greater 
severity  of  condemnation.  Strictly,  the  meaning  is,  '  ye  work 
sin ;'  as  elsewhere  we  have,  '  Depart  from  me,  ye  that  work 
iniquity,'  and,  on  the  other  side  of  character,  '  He  that  feareth 
God  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  with  Him '  (Matt, 
vii.  27,;  Acts  x.  35).  The  force  appears  to  be,  'habitually 
practise  :'  '  this  respect  of  persons  having  become  your  cus- 
tomary procedure,  and  thus  exhibiting  a  constant  state  of 
feeling,  you  are  continually  working  sin.'  To  establish  this 
strong  statement,  James  goes  on,  '■and  are  convinced  of  the 
law  as  transgressors.'  '  Convince'  is  used  here,  as  elsewhere 
in  our  version  (for  example,  in  John  viii.  46),  in  the  sense  in 
which  we  now  commonly  employ  another  verb  from  the  same 
root — '  convict.'  This  clause,  as  I  have  said,  is  intended  to 
account  for  the  use  of  the  stern  word  '  sin ;'  and  this  connec- 
tion would  perhaps  be  better  brought  out  by  adhering  to  the 
participial  form  of  the  original,  '  being  convicted  by  the  law  as 
transgressors,'  or  by  '  seeing  that  you  are  convicted.'  '  The 
law  of  God '  (either  that  particular  '  royal  law '  already  men- 
tioned, or  rather  the  divine  law  in  general,  of  a  part  of  which 


VERS.  10,  II.]     Unity  of  God's  Law.  189 

that  is  a  summary)  'judges  you,  and  in  God's  sight  convicts 
you,  whether  you  yourselves  at  present  recognise  its  decision 
or  not.  For  to  have  respect  of  persons  is  plainly  inconsistent 
with  the  principle  of  the  commandment,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself.'  Respect  of  persons  is  obviously,  in  its 
very  nature,  to  some  extent  a  limiting  of  what  God  has  ex- 
pressed universally.  He  says  '  thy  neighbour,'  and  we  say  '  my 
rich  neighbour,'  'my  neighbour  of  exactly  the  same  way  of 
thinking  in  religious  matters,'  or  the  like.  The  good  Samaritan 
did  not  turn  away  from  the  poor  wounded  traveller  because  his 
features  showed  that  he  was  not  a  Samaritan  but  a  Jew. 

You  see,  brethren,  how  gravely  our  inspired  apostle  viewed 
this  intrusion  of  worldly  considerations  into  the  sphere  of 
purely  religious  thought  and  feeling.  He  evidently  saw  here 
not  merely  what  was  likely  to  cause  some  annoyance  to  an 
individual  treated  with  neglect  or  contempt,  but  the  working 
of  that  very  evil  and  most  destructive  tendency  under  which 
the  church  has  suffered  deplorably  all  down  its  generations, — 
the  tendency  to  distrust  the  support  of  the  unseen  divine  King, 
to  doubt  the  almighty  energy  of  faith,  to  lean  on  man,  and  trust 
to  earthly  buttresses,  as  if  Christ  had  never  said,  '  My  kingdom 
is  not  of  this  world.' 

The  tenth  and  eleventh  verses  are  intended  to  impress  yet 
more  deeply  on  the  readers  of  the  Epistle  a  conviction  of  the 
serious  light  in  which  the  apostle — and  indeed  his  Master, 
speaking  by  him  through  His  Spirit — regarded  such  respect 
of  persons  as  has  been  described.  James  has  called  their 
conduct  '  sin,'  and  the  fact  that  they  were  '  convicted  by  the 
law  as  transgressors '  showed  it  to  be  such  ;  for,  as  we  are  ex- 
pressly told  elsewhere,  'sin'  and  'the  transgression  of  the  law' 
are  convertible  terms,  co-extensive  (i  John  iii.  4).  But  to 
James's  readers  this  would  appear  '  an  hard  saying.'  All  men 
are  prone  to  think  that  the  law  of  God,  strictly  so  called — the 
law  as  a  stern  condemning  judge — takes  cognizance  only  of 
large  matters.  There  is  a  vast  number  of  acts  into  which 
our  consciences  tell  us  that  an  element  of  moral  wrongness 
enters,  which   yet,   counting   them   little,  we  consider   to  be 


1 90         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  il 

scarcely  sins,  or  transgressions  of  God's  law.  Society  often 
calls  sins  of  this  kind  by  half-jesting  names,  attenuating  and 
palliating,  that,  by  the  subtle  power  of  words,  the  feeling  may 
be  deepened  which  the  heart  desires,  that  these  are  trifling 
matters,  not  within  the  sweep  of  law.  When,  for  example, 
the  fulfilment  of  a  disagreeable  engagement  is  evaded  through 
the  pretence  of  illness,  or  when  a  lady  instructs  her  servant 
to  tell  certain  persons,  if  they  call,  that  she  is  not  at  home, 
whether  she  be  really  at  home  or  not, — this  class  of  falsehoods 
is  named  '  white  lies.'  Among  the  Jews,  the  teaching  of  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees,  which  dwelt  mainly  on  isolated  pre- 
cepts instead  of  broad  principles  of  duty,  had  a  tendency  to 
produce  the  impression  that,  whenever  men  could  persuade 
themselves  that  any  act  or  course  of  conduct  did  not  fall 
within  the  exact  letter  of  any  particular  prohibition,  then  it  was 
not  within  the  range  of  the  law  at  all.  Accordingly,  having 
called  the  respect  of  persons  '  sin,'  '  transgression,'  James  an- 
ticipates an  objection  arising  from  such  views  and  feelings,  to 
this  effect :  '  This  may  be  a  violation  of  a  single  point  of  pro- 
priety or  duty ;  but  surely  it  is  not  sin^  not  a  breach  of  laiu.^ 
The  apostle's  answer  is  :  '  Whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law, 
and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all.  For  He  that  said, 
Do  not  commit  adultery,  said  also,  Do  not  kill.  Now,  if  thou 
co^nmit  no  adultery,  yet  if  thou  kill,  thou  art  become  a  transgressor 
of  the  laiu.^ 

Here  he  shows  the  supposed  objectors,  you  observe,  that 
God's  law  constitutes  a  grand  unity ;  that  everything  which  in 
any  measure  is  morally  wrong,  is  a  violation  of  this  one  glorious 
body  of  law  ;  and  consequently,  that  even  if  a  man  could  keep, 
and  did  keep,  all  the  commandments  of  God  except  one,  the 
breach  of  that  one  makes  him,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  words, 
a  violator  of  God's  law,  and  liable  to  punishment.  The  only 
difficulty  in  the  verses  lies  in  the  words  'guilty  of  all'  They 
must  be  explained  by  the  course  of  thought,  and  particularly 
by  the  words  'transgressor  of  the  law,'  in  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  verse,  to  which  plainly,  from  the  argument,  they  are 
used  as  very  nearly  equivalent.     The  apostle  does  not  mean 


VER.  1 1.]  Unity  of  God's  Law.  191 

to  say  that  all  sins  are  equally  heinous,  or  that  a  man  who  has 
told  one  lie  is  necessarily  as  great  a  sinner  as  one  who  has 
broken  all  the  commandments  of  the  Decalogue.     He  means 
that  a  man  who  has  broken  one  commandment  cannot  shelter 
himself  under  the  idea  that  he  has  merely  violated  a  precept 
isolated  from  the  general  law  of  God,  but  is  guilty  of  a  breach 
of  the  law  which  iticludes  all  the  commandments,  and  thus  has  as 
really,  though  it  may  be  not  so   glaringly,  placed  himself  in 
opposition  to  God,  as  if  he  had  broken  all  the  commandments. 
The  apostle  lays  down  as  his  fundamental  proposition,  that 
the  atithority  on  which  the  law  rests  is  one:  'He  that  said.  Do 
not  commit  adultery,  said  also,  Do  not  kill.'     We  might  con- 
ceive the  Scripture  to  have  been  partly  the  word  of  God,  partly 
the  utterance  of  men  unguided  by  God.     In  this  case  some 
precepts  might  have  been  from  God,  whilst  others  were  only 
the  suggestion  of  human  wisdom.     But '  all  Scripture  is  given 
by  inspiration  of  God.'     This  is  the  general  truth,  of  which  the 
apostle's  argument  leads  him  to  make  the  part  prominent,  that 
all  which  the  Bible  declares  to  be  divine  law  is  really  such. 
From  this  fundamental  proposition,  it  follows  that  the  essential 
principle  pervading  every  point  of  the  law,  even  the  tnitiutest,  is 
one.     The  law  is  a  transcript  of  the  divine  character.     It  con- 
tains many  details  for  our  guidance;  but  of  this  body  of  law  love 
is  the  soul,  all-pervading :  for  '  God '  (whose  character  the  law 
expresses)  'is  love.'    A  breach  of  the  law  in  its  minutest  detail, 
therefore,  is  a  breach  of  love :  as,  when  a  man  strikes  another 
severely  on  one  of  his  limbs,  he  hurts  not  that  limb  only,  but 
the  whole  man,  because  life  and  sensation  are  everywhere. 
But  further,  the  spirit  of  true  obedience  to  the  laiu  is  one — loving 
respect  and  submission  to  God  as  the  Author  of  the  whole  law. 
Such  obedience  is  necessarily  implicit  and  impartial.      If  a 
man  selects  certain  commandments  to  obey,  if  he  'picks  and 
chooses '  among  God's  precepts,  it  is  plain  that  he  follows  his 
own  will,  not  God's ;  and  the  same  spirit  that  leads  him  to 
break  one,  would,  under  other  temptations,  lead  him  to  break  all. 
There  is  here  no  true  obedience  to  God.     His  sincere  servants 
*  esteem  all  His  precepts  concerning  all  things  to  be  right.' 


192         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  ii. 


XII. 
JUDGMENT  BY  THE  LAW  OF  LIBERTY. 

*  So  speak  ye,  and  so  do,  as  they  that  shall  be  judged  by  the  law  of  liberty. 
13  For  he  shall  have  judgment  without  mercy  that  hath  showed  no 
mercy;  and  mercy  rejoiceth  against  judgment.' — ^James  ii.  12,  13. 

THE  twelfth  verse  contains  an  earnest  practical  appeal, 
founded  on  the  whole  preceding  discussion ;  and  this 
is  enforced  in  the  thirteenth  by  a  very  solemn  and  pointed 
statement  of  the  respective  results  of  the  two  courses  of  life 
which  men  may  pursue. 

The  injunction  in  the  twelfth  is  so  framed  as  to  remind  the 
readers  of  some  momentous  doctrinal  truths.  One  of  these  is, 
that  '  tue  shall  be  judged^  To  any  one  who  looks  at  the  course 
of  history,  either  of  individuals  or  nations,  with  an  eye  that 
sees  no  deeper  than  the  outer  covering  of  things,  it  may  seem 
as  if  God,  having  created  His  world,  and  established  certain 
general  physical  laws,  had  then  left  it  to  develope  for  itself  its 
good  and  evil,  joy  and  sorrow, — unheeded,  uncared  for.  '  One 
generation  goeth,'  after  a  life  of  thoughtlessness  and  sin,  '  and 
another  cometh,'  to  idle  through  the  same  frivolous  round ; 
and  still  no  voice  of  solemn  rebuke  comes  forth  from  the  '  ex- 
cellent glory.'  A  Howard  and  a  John  WiUiams  live  lives  full 
of  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  God  and  to  their  fellow-men  ; 
yet  no  visible  diadem  of  heavenly  beauty  is  set  by  a  divine 
hand  upon  their  brows,  and  for  them  too,  as  for  the  thoughtless 
and  the  base,  '  it  is  appointed  to  die.'  In  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury of  gospel  light  men  repeat  the  crime  of  Cain — slaveholding 
nations  repeat  the  oppressions  of  Egypt — the  iniquities  of  our 
great  cities  cry  to  the  Lord,  as  did  the  sins  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah ;  and  still  the  sky  is  not  cleft  by  the  destroying 
bolt  of  God's  wrath.      Nay,  so  strangely  assigned  seem  the 


VER.  12.]  ytidgment  by  the  Lazu  of  Liberty.        193 

portions  of  men  at  times — the  wicked  revelling  in  prosperity, 
and  God's  servants  draining  the  '  waters  of  a  full  cup '  of 
trouble — that  even  believers  are  tempted  to  say,  '  How  doth 
God  know,  and  is  there  knowledge  in  the  Most  High  ? '  And 
scoffers,  '  walking  after  their  own  lusts,'  and  exulting  in  their 
fancied  impunity,  say,  '  Where  is  the  promise  of  His  coming? 
for,  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue  as  they 
were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation.' 

But  all  such  thoughts  are  foolish  and  false  ;  '  for  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord  are  upon  the  ways  of  man,  and  He  seeth  all  his  goings.' 
'  He  knoweth  the  way  of  the  righteous ;'  and  '  there  is  no  dark- 
ness nor  shadow  of  death,  where  the  workers  of  iniquity  may 
hide  themselves.'  And  though  in  the  riches  of  His  goodness  He 
bears  long  with  sinners,  that  His  forbearance  may  '  lead  them 
to  repentance,'  yet  He  has  not  left  us  without  manifold  witness 
that  even  now  He  is  sitting  in  judgment.  The  awful  visita- 
tion of  the  flood,  when  desolation  swept  over  the  world  of  the 
ungodly,  who  were  buying  and  selling,  planting  and  building, 
marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  and  scofifingly  asking,  '  Where 
is  the  promise  of  His  coming?'  until  the  day  that  t^ie  fountains 
of  the  great  deep  were  broken  up  and  the  windows  of  heaven 
opened, — how  loud  a  voice  of  solemn  warning  has  this  for 
our  modern  world  !  National  judgments,  varied  and  most 
distinct,  from  the  overthrow  of  the  cities  of  the  plain  to  the 
sea  of  blood  into  which  their  national  sin  of  slaveholding 
recently  brought  our  brethren  in  America,  have  continually 
been  attesting  that  God  is  the  Governor  among  the  nations. 
And  every  sickness,  every  bereavement,  every  stroke  of  ad- 
versity, should  be  felt  by  each  individual  as  a  '  coming  of  the 
Son  of  man'  to  him  for  gentle  judgment,  to  remind  him  that, 
though  day  passes  after  day  now  in  comparative  quiet  and 
monotony,  yet  certainly  one  day  the  Lord  shall  come  in  His 
glory, — 'the  judgment  shall  be  set,  and  the  books  opened. 
For  all  the  judgments  of  time  are  but  prelusive  of  one  great 
solemn,  sublime  event,  when  time  shall  be  no  longer.  The 
last  stage  in  the  ripening  of  the  bitter  fruits  of  sin,  the  final 
crisis  in  the  history  of  its  working  among  men,  will  then  have 

N 


194         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  ii. 

come.  All  disguises  shall  be  removed,  the  secrets  of  all  hearts 
and  lives  made  known,  and  the  solemn  sentence  which  shall 
have  eternal  issues  shall  be  pronounced  from  the  throne,  and 
responded  to  by  each  heart  as  divinely  righteous.  '  Behold, 
the  Lord  cometh  with  ten  thousands  of  His  saints,  to  execute 
judgment  upon  all,  and  to  convince  all  that  are  ungodly  among 
them  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds  which  they  have  ungodly  com- 
mitted, and  of  all  their  hard  speeches  which  ungodly  sinners 
have  spoken  against  Him.' 

*  Day  of  wrath,  that  dreadful  day  ! 
Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away. 
What  shall  be  the  sinner's  stay  ? 
How  shall  I  be  safe  that  day  ? ' 

Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  my 
brethren,  who  has  left  us  in  no  darkness  on  these  questions  of 
tremendous  moment ! 

'  Jesus  is  the  sinner's  stay  ; 
In  Him  we  shall  be  safe  that  day.' 

For,  as  you  see,  to  Christians  the  law  which  is  to  be  the 
standard  of  judgment  is  a  '■law  of  liberty'  This  magnificent 
expression  has  been  already  explained,  in  the  observations 
made  on  the  twenty-fifth  verse  of  the  first  chapter;  but  the 
way  in  which  it  is  applied  here  calls  for  a  few  further  remarks. 
It  means,  as  we  saw,  the  moral  law,  looked  at,  however,  not 
apart  from  the  gospel  of  salvation,  but  as  incorporated  with  it, 
as  in  integral  connection  with  its  historical  facts  and  its  '  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  promises.'  The  only  true  liberty 
for  man  is  that  which  is  given  by  Christ,  the  freedom  which 
flows  from  our  being  made  partakers  of  the  blessings  of  His 
redemption,  and  which  indeed,  when  we  take  the  word  in  its 
broadest  sense,  is  but  another  name  for  salvation.  By  nature 
we  are  enslaved  to  base  tendencies;  and  as  we  are  thus 
morally  in  bondage,  so  legally  we  are  criminals,  '  condemned 
already,'  prisoners  in  the  hand  of  divine  justice,  and  liable  at 
any  moment  to  be  consigned  to  the  '  outer  darkness '  for  ever. 
The  constant  effort  of  the  unregenerate  to  forget  God  and 


VER.  12.]  Jtidgment  by  the  Law  of  Liberty.        195 

shun  all  serious  religious  thought,  is  but  an  attempt  to  deafen 
the  ear  of  conscience  to  the  clank  of  their  chains.  But  the 
Lord  God  has  sent  His  Son  *  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  cap- 
tives, and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound ;' 
and  with  this  '  glorious  liberty '  Christ  '  makes  His  people 
free'  through  'the  truth.'  Believing  the  truth,  we  are  'justified 
by  faith;'  and  to 'be  'justified  '  means  to  be  emancipated  from 
subjection  to  the  curse  of  the  law,  for  '  there  is  no  condemna- 
tion to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus.'  And  the  same  faith 
of  the  truth,  which  thus  delivers  from  liability  to  punishment, 
breaks  also  the  fetters  of  depravity,  because  it  arouses  in  the 
soul  a  supreme  love  of  God  and  holiness.  You  observe,  then, 
that  the  freedom  given  by  Christ  is  not  lawlessness.  It  was 
God's  regard  for  His  law,  conjoined  with  His  love  to  the 
sinner,  that  provided  the  wondrous  plan  of  redemption ;  and 
the  death  of  Christ,  accordingly,  has  in  every  aspect  '  magni- 
fied the  law,  and  made  it  honourable.'  '  He  gave  Himself  for 
us,  that  He  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,'  that  is  to  say, 
might  deliver  us  from  the  power  of  our  natural  disposition  to 
disobedience ;  and  the  same  faith  through  which  we  pass  into 
the  condition  of  freedom  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  introduces 
convictions  and  awakens  desires  which  make  that  law  for  the 
first  time  truly  the  rule  of  our  lives.  We  see  its  beauty  now, 
and  love  it.  '  It  is  no  longer  an  external  thing,  commanding 
with  stern  voice  and  terrible  threats,  but  an  internal,  written 
on  the  fleshly  tables  of  the  mind,  and  sweetly  constraining,  by 
impulses  springing  up  spontaneously  in  the  heaven-born  soul, 
to  follow  after  holiness,  to  abound  in  all  the  fruits  of  right- 
eousness.'^ 

Now  it  is  by  this  '  law  of  liberty,'  the  apostle  tells  us,  by 
the  moral  law  looked  at  in  vital  connection  with  the  facts  and 
promises  of  the  gospel,  that  believers  are  to  be  judged.  For 
unbelievers  the  standard  of  the  trial  is  the  moral  law  simply 
considered,  with  its  stern  obligations,  its  '  Do  this,  and  thou 
shalt  live,'  but  '  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all 
things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law,  to  do  them.' 
^  Dr.  Adam's  Exposition  of  James,  p.  177. 


196         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  ii. 

But  for  all  those  who  have  truly  accepted  Christ  as  their 
Saviour,  the  law  has  the  curse  erased  by  their  Saviour's  hand. 
The  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  show  in  the  face  of  the  moral 
universe  that  He  does  all  things  righteously  and  well :  the  works 
of  the  ungodly  shall  be  produced  as  the  ground  of  condem- 
nation, the  works  of  the  godly  as  evidences  of  their  having 
cordially  accepted  forgiveness  through  free  grace.  Thus  the 
decisions  of  the  judgment-day  will  be  a  great  public  attestation, 
under  circumstances  of  inconceivable  solemnity  and  sublimity, 
that  '  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,  but  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal 
life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.' 

On  the  facts  which  we  have  been  considering  the  apostle 
ounds  an  earnest  appeal  to  his  readers  to  cultivate  holiness : 
'  So  speak  ye,  and  so  do,  as  they  that  shall  be  judged  by  the  law 
of  liberty.'  Christians  should  remember  continually  their  sub- 
jection to  the  great  law  which  expresses  for  us  the  character  of 
God — their  being  *  under  the  law  to  Christ.'  We  should  have 
much  before  our  minds  and  hearts  the  fact  that  to  glorify  God 
— the  end  for  which  we  were  made  at  the  first,  and  for  which 
we  were  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus — is  to  keep  His  law; 
that  'without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord  ;'  that  sincere 
and  growing  conformity  to  the  divine  law  is  the  only  satisfac- 
tory evidence  of  our  having  given  ourselves  up  to  be  saved 
through  Christ,  seeing  that  to  it  will  be  the  appeal  on  the  great 
day  of  final  account.  And  the  fact,  too,  that  the  law  under 
which  Christians  are  placed  is  the  '  law  of  liberty '  should  be 
much  before  us,  as  fitted  to  stimulate  and  sustain  us  in  the 
narrow  way  of  godliness.  When  our  hearts  sink  under  the 
sense  of  our  spiritual  weakness,  how  cheering  to  remember  that 
for  all  true  believers  the  law  is  indissolubly  incorporated  with 
the  gospel ;  that  a  Saviour  who  was  once  '  tempted  like  as  we 
are '  is  looking  down  upon  us  with  pity,  and  ready  to  give  us 
new  strength ;  and  that,  at  the  last,  the  obedience  of  a  Chris- 
tian to  the  law  will  not  be  rigidly  and  sternly  scrutinized,  as  if 
claiming  to  be  a  meritorious  ground  of  everlasting  life,  but 
lovingly  surveyed  as  an  evidence  of  true  spiritual  union  by 
faith  to  the  Living  One.     The  comforts  of  the  gospel,  there- 


VER.  12.]  yudgment  by  the  Law  of  Liberty.        197 

fore,  and  the  motives  which  it  presents  to  holy  obedience, 
ought  to  be  often  pondered  by  the  child  of  God,  that  he  may 
be  spurred  to  ardour  in  the  divine  life,  and  thus  experience  in- 
creasingly the  sense  of  'liberty' — the  joyous  buoyancy  of  spirit 
which  we  may  and  should  have  in  keeping  God's  law — that 
sweet  constraint  of  the  love  of  Christ  which  is  perfect  freedom. 

'  Think  of  these  things,  brethren,'  says  our  apostle,  '  and  let 
the  fruit  of  your  ponderings  be  seen  in  your  whole  outward 
life.'  '■So  speak  ye,  as  they  that  know  and  consider  the  truth  on 
this  matter.'  We  commonly  think  little  of  words,  because  we 
little  know  their  power  and  importance.  There  is  perhaps  no 
class  of  sins  against  which  our  Lord  and  His  apostles  give 
more  frequent  and  earnest  warnings  than  sins  of  the  tongue. 
James  has  already  urged  the  importance  of  being  'slow  to 
speak,'  and  '  bridling  the  tongue ;'  and  in  the  third  chapter  he 
discusses  the  subject  with  considerable  fulness.  The  distinct 
and  decisive  place  that  this  particular  part  of  morals  is  to 
have  in  the  reckoning  at  the  judgment  is  emphatically  exhi- 
bited by  our  Lord  :  '  I  say  unto  you,  that  every  idle  word  that 
men  shall  speak,  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of 
judgment ;  for  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justified,  and  by  thy 
words  thou  shalt  be  condemned.'  And  in  immediate  connec- 
tion He  gives  the  reason :  '  O  generation  of  vipers,  how  can 
ye,  being  evil,  speak  good  things  ?  for  out  of  the  abundance  of 
the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  A  good  man  out  of  the  good 
treasure  of  the  heart  bringeth  forth  good  things  ;  and  an  evil 
man  out  of  the  evil  treasure  bringeth  forth  evil  things.'  '  So 
speak  ye,'  then,  watchfully,  purely,  truthfully,  lovingly,  '  as  they 
that  shall  be  judged  by  the  law  of  liberty.' 

^  Aiid  so  doJ  Our  actions  of  every  kind  should  be  such  as 
may  reasonably  be  expected  of  a  man  who  thinks  of  judg- 
ment and  the  '  law  of  liberty.'  An  unconverted  man,  being 
spiritually  in  an  atmosphere  of  darkness  and  falsehood, — for 
Satan,  the  '  prince  of  this  world,'  is  ever  a  liar,  and  untruth 
the  element  in  which  he  delights  to  envelope  his  subjects, — is 
naturally  inconsistent :  his  deeds  may  often  not  accord  with  his 
words,  and  neither  words  nor  deeds  may  truthfully  rej)resent 


tqS         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes,      [ch.  ii. 

his  thoughts  and  feelings.  But  a  Christian,  a  child  of  light  and 
truth,  having  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  received  into  his 
mind  certain  grand  principles,  which  are  in  their  nature  fitted 
to  control  more  or  less  obviously  his  whole  life,  will  plainly,  in 
so  far  as  he  yields  himself  up  to  the  power  of  these  principles 
— in  other  words,  in  so  far  as  he  approaches  the  character  of  a 
perfect  Christian — be  consistent :  his  words  and  his  deeds  will 
agree,  and  both  will  truly  exhibit  his  state  of  mind  and  heart. 
We  must  hQ  doers  of  the  word,  not  hearers  or  talkers  only.  He 
who  is  to  sit  on  the  great  white  throne,  judging  the  world,  has 
already  given  solemn  warning  on  this  point :  '  Not  every  one 
that  saith  unto  Me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven ;  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  My  Father  which  is  in 
heaven.  Many  will  say  to  Me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have 
we  not  prophesied  '  (spoken  well, — taught  others  impressively 
and  wisely)  '  in  Thy  name  ?  and  then  will  I  profess  unto  them, 
I  never  knew  you :  depart  from  Me,  ye  that  work  iniquity.' 
'  So  speak  ye,  and  so  do,  as  they  that  shall  be  judged  by  the 
law  of  liberty.' 

In  the  thirteenth  verse  we  have  a  singularly  striking  and 
impressive  enforcement  of  the  injunction  given  in  the  twelfth. 
Substantially  the  argument  is  :  '  For  those  who  now  prove  their 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to  be  vital,  by  habitually  speaking  and 
acting  according  to  the  law  of  liberty,  shall  in  the  great  day  be 
judged  by  that  law  of  liberty — the  law  as  read  in  the  gospel  of 
saving  grace ;  but  those  who  disregard  it  shall  be  tried  by  the 
law  apart  from  the  gospel.'  James,  however,  throws  this  into 
another  form,  which  brings  out  these  truths  also, — truths  hold- 
ing everywhere  the  highest  prominence  in  the  teaching  of  the 
Saviour  and  His  apostles, — that  '  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law,'  and  that  the  love  to  God  which  is  '  the  fulfilling'  of  the  first 
table  is  not  really  found  except  where  there  prevails  the  love 
to  man  which  is  '  the  fulfilling '  of  the  second ;  '  for  he  that 
loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  can  he  love 
God  whom  he  hath  not  seen  ? '  You  observe,  too,  that  instead 
of  employing  the  general  term  '  love '  our  apostle  specifies 
'  mercy.'     This  does  not   in  the  Bible   mean  exclusively,  as 


VER.  13.]  yudgfiient  by  the  Law  of  Liberty.        199 

usually  in  modern  English,  '■forgiving  kindness/  but  'active 
pity,'  of  which  forgiveness  of  injuries  is  a  most  important 
branch.  The  sense  of  the  word  is  well  illustrated  by  the  pas- 
sage that  follows  the  parable  of  the  good  Samaritan  :  '  Which 
now  of  these  three,  thinkest  thou,  was  neighbour  unto  him  that 
fell  among  the  thieves  ?  And  he  said.  He  that  showed  viercy 
on  him.'  In  choosing  this  word  in  place  of  the  general  term 
*  love,'  James  no  doubt  has  in  mind  the  contemptuous  '  un- 
merciful '  treatment  of  the  poor  in  some  of  the  Christian  assem- 
blies, with  the  reproof  of  which  his  present  line  of  remark 
started.  But  he  desires  to  remind  us  also  that  the  heaven- 
born  grace  of  Christian  love,  whilst  elevating  and  purifying 
the  natural  affections,  will  always  go  further,  revealing  itself  in 
active  fruit-bearing  compassion  to  the  spiritually  or  temporally 
needy,  because  they  are  needy.  This  evinces  the  spirit  of 
brotherhood  to  Him  who  came  to  '  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil' — ignorance,  and  sin,  and  wretchedness. 

'  He  shall  have  judgment  without  mercy ^  says  the  apostle, 
'■that  hath  showed  fio  ??iercy.^  This  is  a  principle  which  we 
find  set  forth  everywhere  in  Scripture.  The  chief  aim  of  the 
gospel  is  to  produce  in  men  a  spirit  resembling  God's,  who 
'is  love;'  and  those  that  persistently  retain  the  image  of  the 
'prince  of  this  world,'  who  hates  love,  exclude  themselves 
thereby  from  salvation.  '  Forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive 
our  debtors.'  'But  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses, 
neither  will  your  Father  forgive  you.'  '  Then  his  lord,  after 
he  had  called  him,  said  unto  him,  O  thou  wicked  servant,  I 
forgave  thee  all  that  debt,  because  thou  desiredst  me:  shouldst 
not  thou  also  have  had  compassion  on  thy  fellow-servant,  even 
as  I  had  pity  on  thee  ?  And  his  lord  was  wroth,  and  delivered 
him  to  the  tormentors,  till  he  should  pay  all  that  was  due  unto 
him.  So  likewise  shall  my  heavenly  Father  do  also  unto  you, 
if  ye  from  your  hearts  forgive  not  every  one  his  brother  their 
trespasses.'  '  Then  shall  He  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left  hand, 
Depart  from  Me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for 
the  devil  and  his  angels  :  for  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave 
Me  no  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  Me  no  drink.     Verily 


200         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.      [ch.  ii. 

I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least 
of  these,  ye  did  it  not  to  Me.' 

On  the  other  hand,  '  viercy  rejoiceth  (or  "  glorieth  ")  against 
jiidgment.^  The  meaning  is  :  '  Where  a  man's  hfe  is  character- 
ized by  active  Christian  compassion  towards  the  sinful  and  the 
suffering  around  him,  he  may,  and  he  does,  look  forward  to  the 
judgment  with  calm  confidence.'  But  our  apostle,  according  to 
his  wont,  expresses  the  thought  with  much  liveliness  and  bold- 
ness. '  Mercy'  and  '  (condemning)  Judgment'  are  conceived  of 
as  rulers  in  two  distinct  spheres ;  and  in  regard  to  all  who  are 
in  Mercy's  domain,  cleaving  to  her  in  love,  she  tells  Judgment 
confidently  that  he,  the  stern  king,  cannot  take  them  away 
from  her.  She  points  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  Judgment 
confesses  that  all  his  claims  on  those  within  her  bounds  were 
indeed  fully  satisfied  there,  through  the  death  in  their  room  of 
the  Son  of  God.  I  cannot  resist  the  impression  that,  whilst 
the  mercy  which  reigns  in  a  Christian's  heart  is  undoubtedly, 
from  the  antithesis  of  the  clause  to  the  preceding,  the  apostle's 
primary  reference,  yet  one  end  of  his  choosing  the  abstract 
'  mercy,'  instead  of  the  concrete  '  merciful  man,'  was  to  leave 
room  for  the  believing  heart  to  expatiate  on  the  general 
thought  of  '  fruit-bearing  pity,'  and  in  particular  to  trace  up  the 
human  mercy  to  its  fountain  in  the  mercy  of  God.  A  heart 
full  of  mercy  through  faith  in  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  and 
relying  always  and  simply  on  that  divine  mercy, — this  heart 
'  rejoiceth  against  judgment.'' 

The  force  of  this  statement  is  twofold.  It  intimates,  first, 
that  the  man  who  by  a  merciful  character  proves  his  having  a 
vital  faith  in  God's  mercy,  is  through  Christ  safe;  and  secondly, 
that  he  has  a  blissful  sense  of  safety.  The  'peace  that  passeth 
all  understanding '  which  the  gospel  is  fitted  to  impart,  grows, 
as  a  rule,  with  the  growth  of  holiness — that  is,  of  the  spirit 
and  life  of  love ;  for  thus,  in  our  becoming  like  Christ,  evi- 
dence is  ever  increasing  that  we  are  Christ's.  For  despondent 
believers  the  best  medicine  is  energy  in  Christian  work,  the 
cultivation  of  'mercy.'  The  selfish  and  unmerciful  man 
'trembles,'  as,  through   His.  providence  or   His  word,  God 


VER.  13.]  ytidgment  by  the  Law  of  Libei^ty.        201 

'reasons  of  judgment  to  come,' — conscience  recognising  'a 
certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment,  and  fiery  indignation, 
which  shall  devour  the  adversaries;'  whilst,  as  the  Apostle 
John  has  it  in  a  passage  strikingly  parallel  to  that  of  James 
now  before  us,  '  He  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth  in  God, 
and  God  in  him ;  and  herein  is  our  love  made  perfect,  that 
we  may  have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment :  because  as 
He  is,  so  are  we  in  this  world'  (i  John  iv.  16,  17). 


202         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yanies.     [ch.  ii. 


XIII. 
FAITH   WITHOUT    WORKS. 

'  What  doth  it  profit,  my  brethren,  though  a  man  say  he  hath  faith,  and 
have  not  works?  can  faith  save  him?  15  If  a  brother  or  sister  be 
naked,  and  destitute  of  daily  food,  16  And  one  of  you  say  unto  them, 
Depart  in  peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled  ;  notwithstanding  ye  give 
them  not  those  things  which  are  needful  to  the  body,  what  doth  it 
profit  ?  17  Even  so  faith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  is  dead,  being  alone. 
18  Yea,  a  man  may  say.  Thou  hast  faith,  and  I  have  works ;  show 
me  thy  faith  without  thy  M'orks,  and  I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my 
works.  19  Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God ;  thou  doest  well : 
the  devils  also  believe,  and  tremble.' — ^James  II.  14-19. 

WE  begin  here  another  section  of  the  Epistle.  In  the 
preceding,  the  apostle,  starting  with  the  truth  plainly 
exhibited  in  the  first  verse  of  the  chapter,  that  the  root  of 
spiritual  life  in  man  is  '  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,' 
has  shown  that  a  certain  line  of  conduct  which  he  describes 
is  entirely  inconsistent  with  this  'faith,' — wholly  alien  to  the 
spirit  of  Christ's  religion ;  and  has  wound  up  the  paragraph 
by  the  awfully  solemn  declaration,  that  a  man  who  is  desti- 
tute of  the  spirit  of  kindness  to  his  fellows,  one  that  shows 
nothing  in  his  character  of  the  image  of  God,  who  '  is  love,' 
— this  man,  however  loud  his  profession  of  religion,  however 
orthodox  his  creed,  however  high  his  hopes,  shall  at  the  last 
be  condemned,  being  subjected  to  'judgment  without  mercy.' 
He  is  naturally  led  now  to  make  some  remarks  on  the  nature 
of  saving  faith,  bringing  out  this  as  one  grand  essential  charac 
teristic  of  such  faith, — that  it  is  operative,  productive  of  thefriiif 
holiness. 

It  is  evident  that  there  were  some  in  the  Christian  church 
of  the  first  age,  as  indeed  there  have  been  in  the  church  of 
every  age,  who  with  more  or  less  fulness  and  consciousness 


VERS.  14-19.]     Faith  withoitt  Works.  203 

rested  in  the  thought  that  privilege  is  saving  grace, — that  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  accompanied  by  some  measure  of  belief, 
brings  salvation, — however  barren  the  belief  may  be — though 
it  be  but  the  cold,  uninterested  assent  which  can  hardly  be 
otherwise  described  than  as  the  absence  of  positive  disbelief. 
There  were  then  in  all  likelihood,  as  now,  very  few  who  stated 
such  as  their  opinion,  or  even  clearly  defined  it  to  their  own 
minds ;  yet  vast  numbers,  then  as  now,  rested  quietly  in  the 
soul-destroying  impression  that  the  knowledge  of  truth,  with 
assent,  necessarily  constitutes  saving  faith.  The  Jews  were 
very  largely  under  its  influence.  Paul  sets  their  state  of  feeling 
before  us  with  much  liveliness  :  *  Behold,  thou  art  called  a 
Jew,  and  restest  in  the  law,  and  makest  thy  boast  of  God,  and 
knowest  His  will,  and  approvest  the  things  that  are  more  ex- 
cellent, being  instructed  out  of  the  law ;  and  art  confident  that 
thou  thyself  art  a  guide  of  the  blind,  a  light  of  them  which 
are  in  darkness,  an  instructor  of  the  foolish,  a  teacher  of  babes ; 
which  hast  the  form  of  knowledge  and  of  the  truth  in  the  law. 
Thou  therefore  which  teachest  another,  teachest  thou  not  thy- 
self? Thou  that  preachest  a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou 
steal  ?  Thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not  commit  adultery, 
dost  thou  commit  adultery?  Thou  that  abhorrest  idols,  dost 
thou  commit  sacrilege?  Thou  that  makest  thy  boast  of  the 
law,  through  breaking  the  law  dishonourest  thou  God  ?  For 
the  name  of  God  is  blasphemed  among  the  Gentiles  through 
you,  as  it  is  written'  (Rom.  ii.  17-24).  Now,  remembering 
that  the  persons  whom  James  primarily  addressed  in  this 
Epistle  were  Jews  who  had  embraced  Christianity,  we  can 
easily  see  how  their  previous  training  had  prepared  the  way 
for  satisfaction  on  the  part  of  many  of  them  with  a  mere 
inoperative  assent  to  the  truths  of  the  gospel. 

Throughout  the  apostle's  discussion  the  name  ^ faith''  is  taken 
in  a  broad  and  general  sense,  covering  any  degree  of  accept- 
ance of  Christian  truth ;  his  object  being  to  show  that  the  grand  | 
test  of  a  man's  impression  or  belief  being  that  deep,  radical, 
abiding  conviction  which  alone  unites  vitally  to  Jesus  Christ,! 
is  its  producing  the  fruit  of  earnest  devotion  to  God's  glory. 


204         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

He  begins  his  remarks  by  the  question,  evidently  arising 
naturally  out  of  the  reference  in  the  preceding  verse  to  the 
unmerciful   professor   of  religion,  '  What  doth  it  profit,    my 
brethren,  though  a  man  say  he  hath  faith,  and  have  not  works  V 
In  this  supposed  case,  you  observe,  the  apostle  gives  promi- 
nence to  the  man's  '  saying  that  he  has  faith,'  evidently  implying 
that  persons  of  the  class  he  has  in  his  thoughts  have  usually 
much  more  of  profession  than  of  religious  belief  or  feeling. 
Still  the  man  is  not  a  conscious  hypocrite,  a  wolf  in  sheep's 
clothing,  an  infidel  who  for  purposes  of  his  own  calls  himself 
a  believer.     He  has  received  some  religious  impressions ;  he 
assents  in  a  loose  and  general  way  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible, 
and  he  considers  himself  a  Christian.     The  apostle's  arguments 
throughout  the  paragraph  all  proceed  on  the  supposition  that 
the  man  whose  religious  position  he  is  considering  has  some- 
thing which,  in  a  vague  and  liberal  application  of  the  word, 
may  be  spoken  of  as   ^ faith.''     But  he  ^ has  not  works'     In 
these  words  the  apostle  already  assumes  that  radical  vital  faith 
will  show  itself  in  operation  on  the  character.      The  person 
supposed  may  be  a  man  of  great  activity,  full  of  '  works '  of  a 
kind, — a  man  to  whom  those  around  point  as  conspicuous  for 
energy,  making  his  personal  influence  felt  through  every  pulsa- 
tion of  a  large  business,  rapidly  building  up  for  himself  a  great 
fortune.     All  this,  we  know,  may  be  true ;  and  yet,  says  the 
apostle,  while  he  '  says  he  has  faith,'  and  has  it  of  a  kind,  he 
'  has  not  works,' — such  '  works '  then,  manifestly,  as  a  faith 
worthy  of  the  name,  a  cordial,  radical  belief  of  the  gospel, 
must  from  its  nature  produce.     Impelled  by  the  mercies   of 
God,  seen  and  felt  through  faith,  the  true  believer  '  presents 
his  body  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God,'  feeling 
this  to  be  *  reasonable  service.'     He  is  no  longer  'conformed 
to  this  world;'  but  through  '  the  renewing  of  his  mind'  by  the 
faith  of  the  truth  is  '  transformed,'  so  as  to  obtain  experimental 
acquaintance  with  the  '  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will 
of  God.'     '  The  grace  of  God,  bringing  salvation,  teaches  him 
that,  denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  he  should  live 
soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world.' 


VER.  14.]  Faith  without  Works.  205 

'If  a  man  say  he  hath  faith,  but  have  not  works,  what  doth 
it  profit  ?     Can  faith  save  him  V     Now,  that  faith  can  save  a 
man,  and   that  nothing  else   can,   is  written  throughout  the 
Scriptures  as  with  a  pencil  of  liglit.     The  essence  of  the  gospel 
is,  'For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  n 
everlasting  life'  (John  iii.  16).     And  the  power  of  faith  to  save  C 
has  already  been  expressly  set  before  us  by  the  apostle  in  the    \ 
twenty-first  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  where  we  are  told  that  /      j^ 
'  the  implanted  word,'  when  '  received  with  meekness ' — that  is,    \ 
believed  with  childlike  simplicity — 'is  able  to  save  our  souls.'     1 
You  see,  then,  that  in  the  clause  before  us  the  apostle  is  not     1 
speaking  of  faith  universally,  but  of  this  magi's  faith,  and  all 
faith  like  it.     Indeed,  a  more  exact  rendering  of  James's  words 
would  be  'The  faith' — such  faith  as  has  been  described,  a  faith 
that  is  unaccompanied  by  works, — '  can  this  save  him?'     The 
apostle  propounds  the  question,  and  leaves  it  to  the  conscience 
and  common  sense  of  his  readers  to  give  the  answer.     '  When 
you  think,'  he  seems  to  say,  '  that  sin  is  infinitely  hateful  to 
God,  and  in  its  nature  utterly  inconsistent  with  true  happiness,      ^ 

— that  sin  alone  brought  that  death  into  the  world  from  which        

God  in  the  gospel  offers  deliverance, — that  the  very  name  of 
"Jesus"  was  given  expressly  because  He  was  to  "save  His 
people/ww  their  sins,'' — can  you  consider  it  possible  that  such 
a  faith  as  I  have  described,  a  faith  which  does  not  impel  the 
man  to  good  works,  but  allows  him  to  continue  indulging  his 
natural  sinful  tendencies,  can  save  him  ?  Does  not  the  simple 
statement  of  the  case  show  the  supposition  to  be  wholly  absurd  ?' 

Observe,  brethren,  the  suggestiveness  of  the  conjunction  of 
these  two  questions :  '  What  doth  it  profit  ?  Can  his  faith  save 
him?'  His  profession  of  Christianity  and  barren  assent  to  its 
doctrines  might  '  profit '  him  in  some  things.  It  might  as  an 
opiate  lull  the  soul  to  a  treacherous  and  fatal  repose,  mistaken 
by  him  for  the  'peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding.' 
It  might  also  under  certain  circumstances,  such  as  those  which 
exist  in  our  country  at  present,  be  helpful  to  his  worldly  ad- 
vancement.    But  this  is  not  the  '  profiting '  to  be  thought  of 


2o6         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes,     [ch.  ii. 

in  connection  with  religion.  In  self-examination,  the  one  point 
to  be  ascertained  is  whether  our  faith,  our  religion,  is  such  as 
will  bring  '  profit '  at  "the  judgment ;  whether  it  is  'a  house 
founded  on  a  rock,'  which  will  stand  when  '  the  rains  descend, 
and  the  floods  come,  and  the  winds  blow  and  beat  thereon,' — 
a  house  which,  being  built  of  stone,  and  not  of  '  wood,  hay,  or 
stubble,'  will  endure  the  trial  by  fire  in  the  '  great  and  terrible 
day  of  the  Lord.'  'As  a  snare,'  said  Jesus,  '  shall  that  day  come 
on  all  them  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth.  Watch 
ye  therefore,  and  pray  always,  that  ye  may  be  accounted  worthy 
to  escape  all  these  things  that  shall  come  to  pass,  and  to  stand 
before  the  Son  of  man.'  'And  now,  little  children,'  urges  the 
beloved  apostle,  '  abide  in  Him,  that,  when  He  shall  appear, 
we  may  have  confidence,  and  not  be  ashamed  before  Him  at 
His  coming.'  No  religion  should  satisfy  us,  my  brethren, 
_L  which  will  not  '  save '  us, — no  religion,  therefore,  which  is  not 
distinguished  by  the  graces  of  Christian  character,  for  these  are  j 
*■  things  that  accompany  salvation.^ 

In  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  verses  the  apostle  illustrates 
the  emptiness  and  uselessness  of  a  barren  faith,  such  as  has 
been  described,  by  a  comparison  drawn  from  ordinary  life,  and 
with  reference  to  another  spiritual  principle — that  of  charity. 
It  is  plainly  a  most  efficient  mode  in  many  cases  of  bringing 
clearly  before  the  mind  the  true  character  of  conduct  towards 
God,  to  look  at  something  similar  in  the  relations  of  man  to 
man.  What  with  reference  to  God  we  fail  to  see  clearly, 
through  the  mists  of  prejudice,  is  visible  and  tangible  with 
reference  to  man.  *  If  ye  offer  the  blind  for  sacrifice,  is  it  not 
evil  ?  and  if  ye  offer  the  lame  and  sick,  is  it  not  evil  ?  Offer 
it  now  unto  thy  governo7' :  will  he  be  pleased  with  thee,  or 
accept  thy  person  ?  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.' 

James  supposes  the  case  of  a  '■  brother  or  sister''  (that  is,  in  all 
likelihood,  according  to  ordinary  Scripture  usage,  not  '  a  fellow- 
member  of  the  human  race '  merely,  but  '  a  fellow-Christian,  a 
fellow-member  of  the  household  of  faith')  who  is  ^ naked ^  (by 
which  is  meant,  no  doubt, '  thinly  clad,'  according  to  a  frequent 
use  of  the  original  word)  '  afid  destitute  of  daily  food.''     To  such 


VER.  1 6.]  Faith  without  Works.  207 

a  one,  having  not  only  the  general  claims  of  a  destitute  fellow- 
creature,  but  the  special  claims  of  a  fellow-Christian,  he  supposes 
one  of  his  readers  (observe  how  pointedly  the  case  is  put :  '  one 
of  you ^  possibly  implying  a  rebuke  for  some  notorious  neglect 
on  this  very  head),  to  whom  the  sufferer  makes  application,  or 
who  at  least  in  some  way  comes  into  contact  with  him,  to 
say,  ^Depart  in  peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled.^  'Peace  be  to 
you '  has  been  in  Western  Asia,  all  down  the  ages,  the  ordinary 
salutation  and  parting  wish.  The  words  of  address  here,  you 
see,  are  courteous  and  kind  :  *  Farewell ;  I  hope  that  Providence 
will  open  up  a  way  for  your  obtaining  food  and  clothing,  and 
that  soon  you  will  enjoy  every  comfort.'  As  ^uords,  they  are 
excellent.  Now,  brethren,  kind  words  from  a  kind  heart  are 
in  themselves  very  good  things,  often  falling  on  the  bruised 
spirit  with  such  refreshing  and  strengthening  power  as  the 
wine  and  oil  of  the  good  Samaritan  exerted  on  the  traveller's 
poor  bruised  body ;  and  we  deny  ourselves  and  others  much 
happiness,  when  we  are  niggards  in  the  use  ;of  an  instrument 
of  good  which  is  ever  so  ready  at  hand  and  so  fitted  to  benefit. 
Even  in  the  case  mentioned  by  our  apostle,  if  we  suppose 
nothing  given  but  simply  these  words  spoken  to  the  poor 
brother  by  another  obviously  nearly  as  poor  as  himself,  unable 
to  give  material  help,' but  sincerely  sympathetic,  how  full  of 
sweetness  and  refreshing  the  words  would  be — *  as  cold  water 
to  a  thirsty  soul !'  But  the  person  meant  in  the  apostle's  illus- 
tration is  clearly  one  able  to  help  as  well  as  speak  kindly. 
Now  for  such  a  man,  with  a  well-filled  storeroom  and  an  ample 
wardrobe,  to  use  great  swelling  sentences  of  benevolence,  and 
yet  send  away  the  poor  brother  or  sister  starving  with  hunger 
and  shivering  with  cold — to  be  liberal  of  good  words,  which 
cost  nothing,  but  altogether  averse  from  giving  to  the  poor  of 
the  worldly  goods  which  God  has  given  to  us, — how  utterly 
hollow  and  heartless  this  is  1 

We  all  know,  brethren,  that  this  illustrative  case*  is  not  drawn 
from  anything  peculiar  to  the  age  or  country  of  the  apostle,  but 
from  a  form  of  the  working  of  human  depravity  sadly  common 
in  every  age  and  country.    The  type  of  charity,  cheap  and  con- 


2o8         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

temptible,  which  he  here  holds  up  to  view  is  by  no  means  extinct. 
Modern  society — the  modern  church — also  has  its  men  who  are 
fluent  in  the  language  of  generosity,  its  women  who  would  weep 
over  a  scene  of  Avretchedness  touchingly  described  in  a  novel, — 
and  yet  of  their  abundance  give  to  the  poor  only  most  scantily 
and  grudgingly,  or,  it  may  be,  in  their  pecuniary  dealings  with 
the  persons  they  employ,  and  in  other  ways,  even  'grind  the 
faces  of  the  poor.'  What  a  destitution  of  all  right  principle  and 
noble  feeling  is  here  !  '  What  doth  it  profit  V  asks  the  apostle. 
What  good  is  there  for  anybody  ?  Will  the  hunger  of  the  poor 
brother  or  sister  be  appeased  by  generous  words?  Will  good 
wishes  serve  the  place  of  clothing  to  them  ?  Will  expressions 
of  sympathy,  coming  from  the  lips  of  one  who  has  so  evidently 
a  hard,  un sympathizing  heart,  bring  them  comfort?  And  to 
the  man  himself,  who  puts  good  words  in  the  place  of  kind 
deeds,  can  his  utterances  of  benevolence  yield  permanently  the 
satisfaction  of  a  good  conscience  ?  Will  not  every  indulgence 
of  such  idle  sentiment  under  the  name  of  charity  make  the  heart 
harder,  and  draw  the  chains  of  selfishness  closer  round  the 
soul  ?  And  if  kind  words  unsupported  by  kind  deeds  continue 
till  the  end,  will  not  the  Judge's  declaration  on  the  great  day 
be,  '  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye 
did  it  not  to  Me ;  depart  from  Me,  ye  cursed  ?'  What,  then, 
doth  it  profit?  'Whoso  hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth  his 
brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion 
from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him  ?  My  little 
children,  let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed 
and  in  truth.' 

In  the  seventeenth  verse  the  apostle  applies  the  illustration 
to  the  matter  in  hand  :  '■Even  so  faith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  is 
dead.'  He  assumes,  you  observe,  by  his  '  even  so,'  that  in  the 
judgment  of  all  his  readers  the  charity  in  the  case  supposed, 
which  went  no  further  than  words,  was  '  dead.'  Life  worthy  of 
the  name  involves  action,  fruit-bearing  :  here  there  was  plainly 
a  mere  image  of  love,  as  destitute  of  energy  as  a  corpse,  or  a 
tree  withered  from  the  roots.  A  sentiment  there  might  be, 
but  it  was  an  utterly  valueless  and  contemptible  thing,  because 


VER.  17.]  Frdth  without  Works.  209 

unproductive.  Now  a  faith  that  does  not  rule  the  life,  is 
exactly  like  such  charity  :  '  Faith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  is  dead^ 
To  this  statement  James  adds  the  words,  as  our  translators 
tell  us  in  their  margin,  *  by  itself^  which  in  their  text  they 
render  '  behig  alone.^  This  is  a  sense  that  the  expression  may 
bear,  as  in  the  statement  that  '  Paul  was  suffered  to  dwell  by 
himself  (Acts  xxviii.  16).  But  the  supplement  ^  being,^  which 
is  needed  to  make  the  words  yield  the  sense  our  translators 
intend,  is  hardly  justifiable,  constituting  them,  as  it  does,  a 
separate  clause ;  and  the  sense  itself,  even  supposing  it  legiti- 
mately obtained,  is  not  very  satisfactory,  for  it  is  simply  a 
repetition  in  another  form  of  '  if  it  hath  not  works,'  and  this 
without  adding  strength  or  clearness  to  the  argument.  It 
seems  preferable,  therefore,  in  every  way,  to  take  the  sentence 
thus  :  *  Faith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  is  in  itself  dead.'  This 
rendering  is  quite  as  accordant  with  usage  as  the  other,  and 
suits  better  the  position  of  the  words.  It  gives  advance  to 
the  argument  also,  for  thus  we  move  onward  from  observation 
of  phenomena  to  a  judgment  as  to  the  cause.  Life  has 
evidences.  If,  in  that  which  has  the  appearance  of  a  man, 
we  can  find  no  activity,  no  pulse,  no  breath,  no  vital  heat, 
we  know  certainly,  however  great  the  resemblance  to  a  living 
man  in  many  things,  that  there  is  no  life  there.  It  may  be 
a  statue,  where  life  has  never  been,  or  a  corpse  where  life 
was  but  yesterday, — but  beyond  doubt  there  is  no  life  now. 
Now,  not  less  certainly  than  a  living  man  breathes,  and  a 
living  tree  puts  forth  leaves,  does  a  living  faith  prompt  to  holi- 
ness of  life.  ^Wherever,  then,  a  faith  'hath  not  works,'  a  candid 
thinker  will  not  merely  recognise  the  fact  that  the  outward 
beauty  of  leaf  and  fruit  is  wanting,  but  that  the  tree/ the  faith, 
'is  in  itself  dead.'' 

This  statement  carries  with  it  the  solemn  significance  that 
such  faith  cannot  save.  For  salvation  is  life,  given  through 
our  being  'quickened  together  with  Christ;'  and  it  cannot  but 
be  that  the  faith  through  which  this  life  is  originated  and  sus- 
tained, is  itself  an  energy,  a  living  power.  From  no  '  dead 
faith '  can  eternal  life  spring. 

o 


2IO         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

The  first  words  of  the  eighteenth  verse,  which,  strictly  ren- 
dered, are,  '  But  some  man  will  say^  lead  one  to  expect  an 
objection  to  the  apostle's  argument,  such  as  Paul  supposes 
made  to  his  teaching  regarding  the  resurrection,  in  '  But  some 
man  will  say,  How  are  the  dead  raised  up?  and  with  what 
body  do  they  come?'  (i  Cor.  xv.  35.)  It  is  plain,  however, 
on  examining  the  statement  made,  that  the  person  introduced 
as  speaking  holds  precisely  the  apostle's  views,  and  argues,  as 
the  apostle  has  been  doing,  with  the  man  who  trusts  in  an 
inoperative  faith.  It  thus  appears  that  we  have  here  simply 
an  illustration  of  that  liveliness  of  style  which  pervades  the 
whole  Epistle,  the  discussion  being  thrown  for  a  little  into  a 
dramatic  form.  The  force  of  the  introductory  particle  seems 
to  be  *  But  further,'  or,  as  our  version  has  it  excellently,  '  Yea;'' 
the  connection  of  thought  being,  I  think,  somewhat  like  this : 
*  What  I  have  now  stated,  that  inoperative  faith  is  dead,  may 
appear  to  you  an  hard  saying ;  but  something  even  stronger 
may  be  put  forward  on  the  subject.  A  Christian  whose  life 
shows  the  fruits  of  faith  may  reasonably,  in  this  controversy, 
question  the  very  existence  of  a  faith  that  bears  no  fruit,  and 
challenge  the  man  who  trusts  in  such  a  faith  to  prove  its  exist- 
ence. Not  merely  is  it  dead,  but  one  may  doubt  whether 
there  is  even  a  corpse  or  a  statue — whether  there  is  anything 
of  faith — whether,  instead  of  intellectual  assent,  there  be  not 
a  kind  of  torpid  unbelief 

The  Christian  whom  the  apostle  introduces  to  maintain  the 
cause  of  truth  opens  his  case  thus,  addressing  the  man  of 
unproductive  faith  :  '  Thou  hast  faith,  and  I  have  works.''  The 
point  of  distinction  in  the  controversy  is  thus  put  forth  into 
prominence :  '  I  strive  by  God's  help  to  live  a  holy  life ;  and 
thou  assertest  thyself  to  have,  and  at  the  outset  I  assume  that 
thou  hast,  faith,  but  no  holy  life.'  Now  comes  the  challenge, 
'  Shozu  me  thy  faith  without  thy  -works,  and  I  will  shoiu  thee 
my  faith  by  my  works ;^  or  rather,  according  to  the  best 
authenticated  reading,  '  Show  me  thy  faith  without  the  works 
(that  are  its  proper  fruits),  and  I  will  by  7?iy  works  show 
thee  the  faith  (from  which  the  works  naturally  spring).'     This 


VER.  i8.]  Faith  without  Works.  211 

challenge  proceeds  on  the  assumption  that  in  true  religion, 
of  which  faith  is  the  root,  there  will  inevitably  be  something 
visible;  and  that  this  is,  or  should  be,  admitted  by  all  pro- 
fessing Christians.  Whilst  the  supreme  relations  of  religion 
are  between  the  soul  and  God,  it  is  also  plainly  intended  by 
God,  that  by  every  one  in  whom  religion  is  found  a  power 
should  be  exerted  on  society.  Jesus  says  to  His  people,  '  Ye 
are  the  light  of  the  world.'  '  Fulfil  this  necessary  condition  of 
religion,  then,'  says  the  challenger  before  us ;  '  make  thy  faith 
visible,  let  it  be  a  light  of  the  world, — without  the  works  that 
it  legitimately  produces,  seeing  that  thou  disregardest  these  :  I, 
on  my  side,  will  show  thee  by  my  works  the  faith  which  gives 
them  birth.'  As  the  fruit  on  the  tree  demonstrates  to  all  be- 
holders the  existence  of  a  root,  though  it  is  hidden ;  as  our  see- 
ing light  proves  to  us  that  there  is  a  luminous  body  somewhere  ; 
as  from  the  streamlet  on  the  mountain  side  we  know  that  far 
up  there  is  a  fountain  ;  so,  by  a  consistent  life  of  holy  earnest- 
ness and  patience,  we  have  shown  to  us  the  faith  of  the  heart 
which  prompts  it.  But  if  a  so-called  fire  sends  out  no  light  or 
heat,  if  a  so-called  fountain  gives  forth  no  water,  we  not  merely 
lack  evidence  of  their  being  what  they  are  said  to  be,  but  we 
have  positive  proof  against  it,  and  therefore  disbelieve  it. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  then,  of  the  issue  of  the  challenge, 
*  Show  me  thy  faith  without  the  works.'  The  thing  cannot  be 
done.  Now,  according  to  the  clear  teaching  of  Scripture,  faith 
has  visible  results  :  therefore  what  calls  itself  faith,  but  is  un- 
able to  s/iow  its  existence,  cannot  in  any  proper  sense  be  con- 
sidered faith — indeed,  is  not  a  reality. 

Throughout  several  verses  following  this,  the  form  of  direct 
address  to  an  individual,  who  represents  all  that  trust  in  a 
mere  unproductive  faith  or  assent,  is  continued.  At  first 
sight,  it  seems  most  natural  to  suppose  that  the  whole  pas- 
sage is  to  be  regarded  as  the  discourse  of  the  intelligent 
fruit-bearing  Christian  whom  the  apostle  has  introduced  in 
the  eighteenth  verse.  Closer  examination,  however,  leads 
to  doubt  on  this  head.  In  the  twenty-fourth  verse,  plainly 
enough,  we  have  James  himself  addressixig  his  readers  gene- 


2 1 2         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.      [ch.  ii. 

rally — *Ye  see;'  and  that  verse  closes  the  argument  from 
Abraham's  history,  the  first  part  of  which  has  the  form  of 
address  to  a  single  person.  It  seems  clear,  therefore,  that 
at  some  point  he  sets  aside  the  '  man '  of  the  eighteenth 
verse,  whilst  retaining  the  pointed  '  thou '  which  the  *  man ' 
had  begun.  By  some  interpreters  this  point  is  fixed  at  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  verse.  To  me  it  appears  more 
natural  to  place  it  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth,  where 
another  section  of  the  argument  commences.  Of  course,  as 
regards  the  sense,  this  is  a  matter  of  entire  indifference,  the 
*  man '  being  in  everything  intended  as  an  exhibitor  of  James's 
own  views. 

He  has  shown  the  nulHty  of  his  opponent's  'faith ;'  yet  in 
Christian  love  he  will  not  leave  him  without  another  appeal, 
in  which,  going  back,  he  takes  him  up  on  his  own  ground  : 
'  Suppose,  however,  that  the  faith  thou  claimest  has  an  exist- 
ence, what  then  ?  Such  a  faith,  which  does  not  purify  and 
elevate  the  moral  nature,  will  not  bring  happiness ;  and  this 
the  experience  of  the  most  wretched  class  of  God's  creatures 
abundantly  illustrates.'  '  .77^1??/  bdievest  that  there  is  one  God.'' 
This  cardinal  article  of  the  belief  both  of  Jews  and  Christians 
he  selects  as  representing  an  orthodox  creed  generally — as 
certainly  held  by  the  Jewish  professing  Christian  whom  he 
addresses,  even  if  in  some  respects  his  creed  might  be  un- 
sound—  and  as  one  which  fully  and  pointedly,  without 
weakening  modifications  and  explanations,  he  could  ascribe 
also  to  the  evil  spirits.  '  Thoti  doest  well.''  '  Thus  far,  good. 
It  is  a  truth,  and  one  of  transcendent  importance.  But  ob- 
serve, the  dei'ils  also  believe  {it) — a?jd  tremble.''  The  devil  '  abode 
not  in  the  truth,  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him ;'  and  there- 
fore *  when  he  speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh  of  his  own,  for  he  is 
a  liar,  and  the  father  of  it.'  Yet,  whatever  falsehoods  he  has 
persuaded  himself  and  his  angels  to  receive,  he  and  they  have 
no  doubt  'that  there  is  one  God.'  But  their  belief  exerts  no 
beautifying  effect  on  their  character, — awakens  no  love  or  re- 
verence for  the  one  true  God  ;  and  indeed,  in  their  hatred  to 
Him,  they  have  striven  with  deplorable  success  to  induce  men 


VER.  19.]  Faith  without  Woi'ks.  213 

to  worship  many  gods  :  for  behind  the  deadness  of  the  stocks 
and  stones  is  everywhere  the  energy  of  the  spirits  of  the  abyss  ; 
so  that,  in  fact,  'the  things  which  the  Gentiles  sacrifice,  they 
sacrifice  to  devils,  and  not  to  God'  (i  Cor.  x.  20).  And  as 
their  character  remains  unimproved  by  their  '  faith,'  so  is  it 
also,  according  to  the  infinite  rectitude  of  the  divine  admini- 
stration, with  their  position  and  prospects.  Their  belief  in  the 
unity  of  God  only  deepens  their  anguish,  since  they  know  that 
no  help  to  them  can  come  from  any  quarter,  and  that,  how- 
ever they  may  oppose  themselves  to  Jehovah,  yet  they  struggle 
in  vain  against  the  One  Almighty, — who,  as  they  themselves 
confess  (Matt.  viii.  29),  will  at  last  deprive  them  even  of  the 
measure  of  wretched  liberty  they  now  have,  and  '  cast  them  into 
the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  to  be  tormented  day  and  night 
for  ever  and  ever.'  '  The  devils  believe — aiid  tremble.^  One 
may  safely  say  that  there  is  nothing  in  all  literature  more 
perfect,  rhetorically,  than  this  tremendous  and  utterly  wither- 
ing close  of  the  first  part  of  the  discussion. 


214        Lechires  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  ii. 


XIV. 
JUSTIFYING  FAITH  A  WORKING  FAITH. 

*  But  wilt  thou  know,  O  vain  man,  that  faith  without  works  is  dead  ?  21  Was, 
not  Abraham  our  father  justified  by  works,  when  he  had  offered  Isaac 
his  son  upon  the  altar  ?  22  Seest  thou  how  faith  wrought  with  his 
works,  and  by  works  was  faith  made  perfect  ?  23  And  the  Scripture 
was  fulfilled  which  saith,  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  imputed 
unto  him  for  righteousness  :  and  he  was  called  the  Friend  of  God. 
24  Ye  see  then  how  that  by  works  a  man  is  justified,  and  not  by 
faith  only.  25  Likewise  also,  was  not  Raliab  the  harlot  justified  by 
works,  when  she  had  received  the  messengers,  and  had  sent  them  out 
another  way  ?  26  For  as  the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith 
without  works  is  dead  also.' — James  ii.  20-26. 

ON  the  surface  of  this  passage  there  hes  obviously  a  seem- 
ing contradiction  of  that  element  in  the  teaching  of 
Scripture  elsewhere  which  we  often  call  distinctively  '  evan- 
gelical,' and,  in  particular,  of  many  express  statements  of  the 
Apostle  Paul,  especially  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and 
Galatians.  Thus,  in  Romans  we  read,  'Therefore  we  con- 
clude that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the 
law'  (Rom.  iii.  28);  and  in  Galatians,  'Knowing  that  a  man 
is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law,  but  by  the  faith  of 
Jesus  Christ,  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  that  we 
might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  not  by  the  works 
of  the  law :  for  by  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  jus- 
tified' (Gal.  ii.  16).  Here,  on  the  other  hand,  James  says, 
'  Ye  see  how  that  by  works  a  man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith 
only.'  Now,  believing,  as  we  do,  that  the  Bible  is  the  Word 
of  God, — that  though  the  subordinate  human  authorship  was 
various,  yet  the  whole  is  the  utterance  of  the  one  Divine  Spirit, 
— it  necessarily  follows  that  we  cannot  suppose  any  statements 
in  it  to  be  really  contradictory  of  each  other.  The  existence 
of  such  would  plainly  unsettle  the  whole  basis  of  our  faith.    But 


VERS.  20-26.]  Justifying  Faith  a  Working  Faith.  2 1 5 

in  His  revelation  of  Himself  to  us  in  the  Bible,  just  as  in 
His  revelation  of  Himself  in  providence,  God  has  not  en- 
tirely withheld  difificulties.  In  both  He  offers  a  knowledge 
of  Himself,  His  character  and  will,  to  candid  souls — to  minds 
and  hearts  that  are  willing  to  be  fair  and  reasonable — that  are 
truly  desirous  to  know  Him,  and  therefore  ready  to  read  text 
in  connection  with  context.  Such  souls  find  the  difficulties 
helps  to  faith,  not  hindrances.  '  It  is  one  of  the  great  beauties 
of  the  Scriptures,  that  the  sacred  writers,  in  the  calm  con- 
sciousness of  truth,  in  the  use  of  popular  as  distinguished 
from  philosophical  language,  affirm  and  deny  the  same  verbal 
proposition,  assured  that  the  consistency  and  intent  of  their 
statements  will  make  their  way  to  the  heart  and  conscience.'  '^ 

Seeing  that  there  is  a  ^{^'j^^l  opp^'^i'']'^'''  between  the  state- 
ments of  Paul  and  James,  we  must  look  for  the  reconciliation 
either  in  the  employment  by  the  writers  of  the  same  words  in 
somewhat  diffisrentsensgs,  or  in  their  contemplating  the  matter 
under  discussion  from  different  points  of._yiew,  or  perhaps 
partly  in  the  one  and  partly  in  the  other.  Some  interpreters 
find  the  solution  of  the  difficulty  in  a  twofold  use  of  the  word 
'justify;'  holding  that,  whilst  Paul  undoubtedly  speaks  of 
the  act  of  God's  free  grace  in  which  a  sinner  is  accepted 
as  righteous  in  His  sight,  James  uses  the  word  to  designate 
what  takes  place  when  a  man  is  to  himself  or  those  around 
him  proved  or  shown  to  have  been  thus  accepted  by  God, 
which  is  done  by  the  consistent  holiness  of  his  life.  The 
one  is  actual — a  justification  of  the  man ;  the  other  is  declara- 
tive— a  justification  of  the  vad.vi'?,  faith.  But,  according  to  this 
view,  the  latter  part  of  the  twenty-fourth  verse  could  scarcely 
have  any  meaning  ;  for  if  the  apostle's  reference  be  not  to  a 
justification  of  the  man  before  God,  but  to  a  justification  or 
attestation  of  his  faith  to  his  own  judgment  or  that  of  others, 
what  satisfactory  sense  could  be  attached  to  the  statement, 
that  '  a  man  (that  is,  on  this  view,  a  man's  faith)  is  justified 
by  works,  and  not  by  faith  only  ? '  Other  expositors  believe 
the  solution  of  the  difficulty  to  be  found  in  the  supposition, 
^  Dr.  Hodge,  on  i  Cor.  viii.  i. 


2i6         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  ii. 

not  of  a  dififerent  use  of  words,  but  of  a  jjifferent  point  oi 
view.  This  opinion  appears  to  me  the  true  one.  I  cannot 
but  think  that  the  '  justification '  of  which  our  apostle  speaks 
is  acceptance  before  God ;  while  there  is  perhaps  also,  but 
quite  in  a  subsidiary  way,  a  lively  reference  in  his  mind  to  the 
attestation  of  this  justification  to  the  individual  himself — the 
witness  of  the  Spirit  that  he  is  a  child  of  God.  The  verses 
before  us  are,  beyond  a  doubt,  as  it  seems  to  me,  intended  as 
an  illustration  of  the  point  raised  in  the  fourteenth  verse,  the 
first  verse  of  this  paragraph,  'Can  his  faith  save  him?' — which, 
again,  stands  in  closest  connection  with  the  truth  exhibited  in 
the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  verses,  that  *  we  should  live  as  those 
who  are  to  be  judged.'  The  course  of  the  argument  there- 
fore requires  that  the  'justification  '  be  taken  as  substantially 
equivalent  to  '  being  saved^ — as  the  justification  which  will  be 
of  supreme  moment  when  we  come  to  be  '■judged^ 
i    It  is  important  to  remember  that  the  apostolic  epistles  are 

I  not,  in  the  technical  use  of  the  phrase,  '  confessions  of  faith,' — 
not  systematic   bodies   of  divinity  built  up  with   passionless 
(exactness, — but  effusions  warm  from  the  hearts  of  men  glowing 
.iwith  zeal  for  souls,   and  who  warn,  teach,  plead  with  their 
I  fellow-men  in  their  letters,  just  as  they  did  in  their  sermons,  in 
forms  varying  according  to  the  particular  requirements  of  those 
they  addressed.     Paul,  and  Peter,  and  James,  are  not  geogra- 
'  phers  seated  on  a  hill-top,  quietly  mapping  out  the  features  of 
the  country  round,  but  soldiers  in  intense  earnest  fighting  on 
the  plain  for  the  honour  of  their  Lord,  captains  marshalling 
their  troops  of  arguments  and  appeals  against  various  mani- 
Ijfestations  of  error  and  sin.     The  form  of  their  line  is  of  neces- 
|l  sity  constantly  regulated  in  great  measure  by  the  form  of  that 
I -of  the  enemy;  and  sometimes,  in  the  progress  of  the  fight,  two 
i   of  the  Lord's  captains,  with  their  bands,  might  seem  to  a  spec- 
||  tator  at  a  distance  as  if  they  were  facing  each  other  in  opposi- 
|]  tion  ;  but  looking  more  closely,  we  find  that  in  truth  there  is 
l'  an  enemy  between,  whom  they  are  assailing, — the  one  in  front, 
and  the  other  in  rear.     The  case  before  us  is  somewhat  of  this 
kind.     In  the  passages  quoted  above  from  the  Epistles  to  the 


VERS.  20-26.]  y  testifying  Faith  a  Working  Faith.  2 1 7 

Romans  and  the  Galatians,  and  indeed  in  a  great  part  of  his 
writings,  Paul  opposes  kgalisjn,  or  self-righteousness, — the  error 
of  those  who,  under  various  disguises  of  their  real  position, 
ding  to  the  covenant  of  works,  and  are  disposed  to  trust 
wholly  or  partially  to  their  earni?ig  heaven  by  holiness.  To 
these  foolish  dreamers  Paul  exhibits  the  glorious  truth,  that 
justification  is  of  grace  through  faith.  James,  on  the  other 
hand,  in  the  paragraph  before  us,  and  more  or  less  obviously 
and  directly  throughout  the  whole  Epistle,  opposes  antiiiomian- 
isiii, — the  error  of  those  who  theoretically,  or  in  far  greater 
numbers  practically,  without  defined  views  on  the  subject,  put 
holiness  of  life  aside,  as  if  assent  to  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  or 
a  conviction  that  they  are  certainly  Christians,  released  them 
from  the  obligation  to  live  '  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly.' ^ 

The  full  doctrine  of  Scripture  on  the  subject  under  dis- 
cussion is,  that  a  sinner  is  justified  not  on  the  ground  of 
anything  in  his  personal  character,  but  by  divine  grace,  solely 
through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, — such  faith,  however,  as  'worketh 
by  love,'  and  is  thus  a  '  victory  overcoming  the  world,' — a 
potent  principle,  revealing  its  energy  in  producing  devotion 
of  life  to  the  service  of  God.  In  the  writings  both  of  Paul 
and  James  there  is  evidence  that  each  of  them  held  and 
taught  the  whole  of  this  doctrine  in  its  integrity;  but,  from 
the  nature  of  the  error  most  prevalent  and  clamant  among 
those  whom  respectively  they  had  immediately  in  view,  Paul 
specially  maintains  the  first  part  of  the  truth,  James  specially 

'  Dr.  Lightfoot,  in  a  long  note  on  'The  faith  of  Abraham,'  in  his  Com- 
mentary on  Galatians  (pp.  156-162),  gives  some  interesting  and  valuable 
information  regarding  the  rabbinical  discussions  on  that  subject.  He  shows 
that  Gen.  xv.  6  '  was  a  common  thesis  in  the  schools  of  the  day '  (the  age 
of  Paul  and  James),  and  that  '  the  meaning  oi faith  was  variously  explained, 
and  diverse  lessons  drawn  from  it. '  A  Christian  apostle  and  a  rabbi  '  might 
both  maintain  the  supremacy  of  faith  as  the  means  of  salvation  ;  but  faith 
with  St.  Paul  was  a  very  different  thing  from  faith  with  Maimonides,  for 
instance.  With  the  one  its  prominent  idea  is  a  spiritical  life ;  with  the 
other,  an  orthodox  creed:  with  the  one,  faith  is  allied  to  liberty ;  with  the 
other,  to  bondage ' — the  bondage  of  subjection  to  an  external  rule  of  ordi- 
nances. It  is  to  be  remembered  that  James's  readers  had  been  brought  up 
under  rabbinical  teaching. 


1 


+- 


2 18         Lechires  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

the  second.     Or,  putting  it  in  another  form :  To  those  who, 
being  *  ignorant  and  out  of  the  way,'  ask,  '  What   must  we 
do  to  be  saved?'  Paul  answers,  'Believe — have  faith — in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  ye  shall  be  saved.'     To  those   who, 
knowing  this,  and  professing  to  rest  their  hopes  on  it,  ask,  *  Is 
all  faith  saving  ;  and  if  not,  how  shall  we  ascertain  Avhether 
our  faith  is  ? '  James  replies,  '  Faith  without  works  is  dead.' 
To  unbelievers  in  Christ,  Paul  says,  '  Ye  can  be  justified  only 
through  faith  ;   your  best  works,  apart  from  faith,  are  dead 
tuorks.^     To  professed  believers  in  Christ,  James  says,  '  If  ye 
have  not  the  works  of  faith,  then  ye  are  not  justified  :  a  faith 
which  is  alone — which  has  no  Works — is  2.  dead  faith ^     Both 
apostles  teach  that  true  spiritual  life  is  found  always  and  only 
||vvhere  faith  reigns  in  the  soul,  and  reveals  its  power  in  the  life. 
■Rightly  understood,  understood  according  to  the  drift  of  the 
'context  and  the  general   spirit  of  his  Epistle,  this  passage  of 
James  no  more  makes  justification   dependent   on  works  as 
its  meritorious  ground,  than  the  teaching  of  Paul  connects  it 
with  an    inoperative  faith  —  a  barren,   uninterested  assent  to 
truth.     '  Oh,  it  is  a  living,  quick,  mighty  thing  this  faith,'  says 
,  Luther  in  his  preface  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  ;^  '  so  that 
;  it  is  impossible  but  that  it  should  do  all  good  things  without 
intermission.     It  does  not  ask  whether  good  works  are  to  be 
done  ;  but  before  the  question  could  be  asked  it  does  them,  and 
I  is  always  doing  them.     He  who  does  not  these  good  works  is 
a  man  without  faith  ;  he  is  looking  about  him  for  faith  and 
good  works,  but  knows  neither  the  one  nor  the  other :  all  his 
words  about  them  are  idle  babbling.     Faith  is  a  living  confi- 
dence in  the  grace  of  God, — so  confident,  that  it  would  die  a 
thousand  deaths  in  reliance  on  it.     And  this  confidence  and 
;   knowledge  of  the  grace  of  God  make  the  heart  merry  and  alert 
'  towards  God  and  all  His  creatures.    Hence  man  is  free  without 
force  to  do  what  is  right,  to  serve  every  one,  to  bear  all  suffer- 
•   ings,  out  of  love  to  God  and  in  His  praise,  who  hath  shown  him 
!  such  grace.     Yea,  it  is  impossible  to  separate  wo?'ks  from  faith — 
1  as  impossible  as  to  separate  burning  and  shining  from  fire.' 
'  Quoted  by  Stier. 


.  VER.  20.]  ytistifyhig  Faith  a  Working  Faith.     219 

James  has  already  illustrated  in  various  ways  the  truth  which 
he  wishes  to  impress  on  his  readers — that  of  the  operative, 
fruit-bearing  nature  of  saving  faith.  In  the  present  paragraph 
he  illustrates  it  by  instances.  These  are  introduced  by  a  stem 
and  searching  question  addressed  to  the  professing  Christian 
who  believes  in  the  sufficiency  of  a  barren  faith.  With  deep 
solemnity  and  loving  severity,  the  apostle,  in  the  very  form  ot 
address  he  employs,  exhibits  to  the  man  his  true  condition 
before  God  :  he  was  a  '  vain  man ' — '  utterly  empty,  destitute 
alike  of  vital  religion  and  of  good  sense.'  Then  he  asks  him, 
'  Wilt  thou  knozii  that  faith  without  works  is  dead  V  The  '  Wilt 
thou''  has  its  full  significance — 'Art  thou  willing?'  It  was  here 
that  the  real  difficulty  lay,  not  in  any  obscurity  of  the  subject. 
*  If  any  man  be  7villi/ig  to  do  God's  will,  he  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God;'  but  those  who  are  unwilling 
to  do  are  unwilling  to  know,  for  they  'love  darkness  rather 
than  light,  because  their  deeds  are  evil.'  The  force  of  this 
twentieth  verse,  in  connection  with  what  follows,  is  obviously 
this  :  '  If  you  have  a  willingness  to  know,  then  listen,  and  you 
will  hear  irresistible  evidence.'  You  observe,  then,  that  what 
follows  is  plainly  meant  to  prove  the  proposition  stated  in  this 
verse,  that  'faith  without  works  is  dead,'^ — which  indeed  we 
find  repeated  at  the  close  of  the  argument  in  express  terms,  as 
the  sum  of  the  whole  matter :  '  For  as  the  body  without  the 
spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead  also.' 

The  nature  of  the  argument  now  brought  forward  I  appre- 
hend to  be  this :  '  Let  us  look  at  any  of  the  cases  of  piety 
mentioned  in  Scripture,  and  which  we  are  in  the  habit  of 
referring  to  as  illustrations  of  justification  by  faith,  and  you 
will  find  that  in  all  of  them  the  faith  was  operative.'  Both  of 
the  cases  that  are  here  cited  are  mentioned  also  in  the 
catalogue  of  the  eminent  for  faith  contained  in  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  Hebrews,  which  is  no  doubt  simply  a  reduction 
to  writing  of  instances  that  were  often  brought  up  in  preach- 
ing, especially  to  congregations  of  Jews.     The  first  example 

1  In  regard  to  the  meaning  of  the  well-supported  reading  u.pyh,  for  nxfu, 
see  the  Notes  on  the  Greek  Text. 


2  20         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  ii. 

adduced  by  James  is  naturally  that  of  Abraham,  '  the  father 
of  all  them  that  believe,'  the  representative  man  of  faith. 
Now,  asks  the  apostle  triumphantly,  'was  not  he  whom  we 
Jews  proudly  and  affectionately  call  our  father,  the  great 
founder  of  our  race,  justified  by  works^  loJien  he  offered  Isaac 
his  soil  7i_pon  the  altar  V  He  puts  the  matter  first  in  a  general 
form,  ^hy  works^  and  then  specifies  the  one  'work'  in  the 
patriarch's  history  which  all  readers  of  his  life  would  at  once 
single  out  as  the  pre-eminent  evidence  of  his  devotion  to  the 
will  of  God, — his  offering  Isaac  on  the  altar, — a  sacrifice  com- 
pleted, so  far  as  the  father's  entire  subjugation  of  self-will  was 
concerned,  and  arrested  only  by  the  divine  command. 

This  statement  in  the  twenty-first  verse  (for  statement  it 
obviously  is,  though  expressed  interrogatively)  does  not  con- 
tain the  whole  argument;  and  in  order  to  understand  this  part 
correctly,  we  must  look  at  what  follows,  and  then  come  back  to 
it.  The  proposition,  you  remember,  which  the  example  has 
been  adduced  to  support,  is  that  '  faith  without  works  is  dead  ;' 
or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  and  the  aspect  looked  at  in  the 
examples,  that  '  all  living  faith  has  works.'  In  the  twenty-first 
verse  Abraham's  '  works '  have  been  mentioned,  and  one  of 
them  specified.  In  the  two  verses  that  follow,  James  goes  on 
to  show  the  connection  of  '' faith '  with  these  '  works.'  '  Seest 
thoti^  (rather,  perhaps,  as  in  the  margin,  ' thou  seest')  ^ that 
faith  7vroiight  with  his  works, ^ — prompting,  operating  on  and 
by  them.  '  Whenever  you  seek  for  Abraham's  faith,  you  find 
it  at  tvork  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  whenever  you  contemplate 
his  works,  and  ask  for  the  principle  producing  them,  you  find 
that  to  be /d!////.'  '■And  hy  the  works  the  faith  was  viade  per- 
fect^— that  is,  either  simply  '  was  exhibited  in  glorious  fulness ' 
(as  when  Jesus  says  to  Paul,  '  My  strength  is  viade  perfect  in 
weakness ' — 2  Cor.  xii.  9),  or  '  attained  its  legitimate  develop- 
ment or  completion.'  The  meaning  is  not  that  works  supply 
anything  defective  in  the  grace  of  faith  itself,  but  that  they 
reveal  it  in  its  fulness  of  wealth  and  beauty,  as  by  the  leaves 
and  fruit  a  tree  is  made  perfect. 

The  passage  which,  in  the  twenty-third  verse,  James  quotes 


VER.  23.]  y ustifyiiig  Faith  a  Working  Faith.     221 

from  the  Old  Testament  (Gen.  xv.  6),  is  expressly  cited  by 
Paul  both  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  (iv.  3)  and  in  that  to 
the  Galatians  (iii.  6),  as  a  most  distinct  and  explicit  statement  of 
the  doctrine  of  Just  if  cation  by  faith  alone ;  the  exact  force  of  the 
words  probably  being  this  :  'Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  (his 
faith)  was  reckoned  to  him  unto  (that  is,  so  as — not  meritoriously, 
but  instrumentally — to  bring  into)  justification.'^  Abraham  had 
'  believed  God,'  and  through  his  faith  been  justified,  long  before 
the  wonderful  transaction  in  the  land  of  Moriah ;  and,  indeed, 
the  words  quoted  here  from  Genesis  have  reference,  in  their 
original  application,  to  an  incident  that  occurred  many  years 
before  that.  When  our  apostle,  then,  says  that  at  the  offering 
up  of  Isaac  (for  obviously  of  it  he  is  still  speaking)  this  '  scrip- 
ture tvas  fitlflkd,'  the  meaning  must  be,  that  the  faith  which 
had  been  'imputed  to  Abraham  for  righteousness'  long  before, 
and  also  God's  approval  of  that  faith,  were  exhibited  with 
special  fulness  and  clearness.  God's  justifying  act  introduces  the 
believer  into  a  justified  state,  in  which  he  is  '  kept  by  the  power 
of  God  through  faith '  (the  same  faith  by  which  he  was  brought 
into  the  state)  '  unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last 
time.'  The  patriarch's  perseverance,  then,  in  justifying  faith 
was  signally  illustrated  in  his  wiUingness  to  offer  up  his  son  at 
God's  command ;  and  the  divine  approval  of  it — the  fact  ot 
its  being  '  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness' — was  also  most 
distinctly  attested  on  the  same  occasion  :  for  '  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  called  unto  him  out  of  heaven,  and  said,  Now  I  know 
that  thou  fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast  not  withheld  thy  son, 
thine  only  son,  from  Me ;  and  because  thou  hast  done  this 
thing,  in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will 
multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  the  heaven ;  and  in  thy  seed 
shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed,  because  thou  hast 
obeyed  My  voice.' 

•  As  a  further  evidence  of  God's  approval  of  the  faith  that 
'  wrought  with  Abraham's  works,'  and  which  exhibited  itself 
in  such  glorious  strength  under  the  terrible  test,  James  pro- 

^  Compare  the  use  of  in  '^inu.iotvvny  in  Rom.  x.    lo ;  and  see  Hodge's 
exhaustive  note  on  Rom.  iv.  3. 


22  2         Lectures'  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.     [ch.  ii. 

ceeds  to  recal  to  the  minds  of  his  readers  the  closeness  and 
dignity  of  the  patriarch's  relation  to  God,  shown  by  the  fact — 
one  which  '  the  twelve  tribes  scattered  abroad '  knew  well 
and'  delighted  in — that  their  great  father  '■  %uas  called''  (that 
is,  according  to  the  constant  Scripture  usfe  of  the  expression, 
'  was,  and  was  acknowledged  to  be')  '  the  Friend  of  GodH  This 
name,  which  Isaiah  has  in  a  well-known  passage,  where  God 
says,  '  Thou,  Israel,  art  My  servant,  Jacob  whom  I  have 
chosen,  the  seed  of  Abraham  My  friend'  (Isa.  xli.  8),  was  a 
favourite  designation  for  Abraham  with  the  Jewish  Rabbis, 
and  became,  indeed,  so  current  in  the  East,  that  now  in  the 
Mohammedan  countries,  '  El- Khulil- Allah'  (the  friend  of  God), 
or  more  usually  simply  '  El-Khulil'  (the  friend),  has  superseded 
altogether  his  proper  name.^ 

Now,  gathering  up  the  apostle's  statements  regarding  Abra- 
ham, what  we  find,  as  you  observe,  is  simply  this,  that  his 
faith  was  operative,  and  specially  showed  its  power  in  that 
amazing  work  of  self-sacrifice  in  the  land  of  Moriah.  No 
other  principle,  indeed,  could  have  triumphed  over  the  appeals 
of  natural  affection,  carnal  reason,  and  seeming  self-interest,  as 
faith  on  that  occasion  so  completely  did.  Works  were  the 
flower  or  fruit  of  his  faith;  and  at  the  altar  in,  Moriah  that 
scripture  obtained  a  most  striking  fulfilment  or  verification, 
which  says  that  Abraham  lu as  justified  through  faith.  ^Vhen,  in 
the  light  of  these  statements,  then,  we  look  back  to  that  made 
in  the  twenty-first  verse,  that  '■Abraham  was  justified  by  works, ^ 
what  can  it  mean,  but  that  by  the  faith  which  showed  itself  in 
his  works  he  was  justified, — the  works  being  regarded  not  as 
in  any  degree  meritorious,  but  simply  as  the  evidence  of  a  real 
and  vital  faith  1  If  this  be  not  the  sense,  then  what  follows, 
and  particularly  the  citation  in  the  twenty-third  verse,  is  wholly 
irrelevant  and  meaningless. 

In  the  twenty-fourth  verse  James  states  the  inference  to  be 
drawn  concerning  the  subject  in  hand  from  these  reasonings 
on  the  case  of  Abraham :  '  Ye  see  how  that  by  works  a  man  is 

'  This  is  now  the  name  in  ordinary  use  for  Hebron,  the  town  with  which, 
in  life  and  death,  Abraham  was  so  closely  connected. 


VER.  24-]  y^istifying  Faith  a  Working  Faith.     223 

justified^  and  not  by  faith  only.''     By  this  he  means,  that,  in  con- 
sidering our  relations  to  God  and  prospects  for  eternity,  we 
should  not  be  contented  if  we  see  in  our  minds  some  such 
assent  to  divine  truth  as  in  a  liberal  use  of  the  word  may  be 
called  faith,  but  should  carefully  examine  whether  it  be  an 
operative,   fruit-bearing  belief;  for  only  this  is  saving  faith. 
Startling  and  unevangelical  as  the  words  of  the  apostle  here 
seem  to  be,  taken  by  themselves,  no  one  who  has  candidly 
and  intelligently  followed  the  train  of  his  argument  can  be 
misled  as  to  his  meaning,  or  as  to  the  perfect  harmony  be- 
tween his  teaching  and  that  of  the  Apostle  Paul.     There  can 
be  no  question  that  the  great  cardinal  doctrine  that  justification 
is  by  faith  alone,  was  well  known  and,  professedly  at  least, 
fully  received  by  the  readers  of  this  Epistle,  as  by  all  others 
of  the  primitive  Christians  ;  and  that  it  could  never  enter  their 
minds  for  one  moment,  that  James   or  any  of  the  apostles 
entertained  the  slightest  doubt  of  its  being  the  very  truth  of 
God,    Differences  of  opinion  and  practice  on  some  points  there 
might  be  among  the  first  teachers  of  Christianity ;  but  no  in- 
spired servant  of  Him  who  summed  up  His  gospel  in  the  words, 
*  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life^  could  for  an  instant  be  held  to  doubt  that  salvation 
is  through  faith  alone.     That  the  full  theological   expression 
'justification  by  faith'  was  current  in  its  well-defined  sense  at 
a  very  early  period  in  the  history  of  the  church,  too,  is  shown 
by  the  language  which,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  in  a 
passage  partly  quoted  near  the  beginning  of  this  lecture,  Paul 
declares  himself  to  have  addressed  to  Peter  at  Antioch :  '  We 
who  are  Jews  by  nature,  and  not  sinners   of  the   Gentiles, 
knowing  that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
but  by  the  faith  of  Jesus   Christ,   even  we  have  believed  in 
Jesus  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith  of  Christ, 
and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law  ;  for  by  the  works  of  the  law 
shall  no  flesh  be  justified'  (Gal.  ii.  15,  16).     Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, our  apostle  could,  without  danger  of  misleading 
his  readers,  throw  his  statement  of  most  important  truth  into 


224         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  ii. 

the  form  which  he  has  here  given  it.  He  could  with  safety- 
expose  a  deplorable  abuse  of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  alone,  and  exhibit  the  nature  of  saving  faith,  in  a  way 
which,  by  its  seeming  at  first  sight  to  contradict  the  doctrine, 
would  lay  hold  of  men's  memories  and  excite  them  to  thought. 
The  apparent  opposition  and  real  harmony  between  the 
declarations  of  James  and  Paul  may  be  illustrated  by  an 
analogy.  Suppose  a  thunderstorm,  by  which  lives  and  pro- 
perty have  been  destroyed,  and  that  an  intelligent  child  in  the 
desolated  district,  whose  ears  had  been  stunned  by  the  peals 
of  thunder,  and  his  eyes  dazzled  with  the  glare  of  the  light- 
ning, should  ask  a  friend,  *  Was  it  the  thunder  or  the  lightning 
that  caused  the  destruction?'  The  answer  would  be,  that 
'terrible  as  the  noise  of  the  thunder  is,  yet  the  destruction  is 
caused  by  lightning  alone,  without  the  thunder.''  But  if  the  further 
question  be  proposed,  'Is  a// lightning  of  a  destructive  kind?' 
then  the  answer  will  be,  *  No ;  destruction  is  not  caused  by  light- 
ning alone,  without  thunder^ — the  noiseless  'summer  lightning,' 
as  it  is  sometimes  called,  which  we  often  see  playing  near  us 
in  sheets  of  flame  at  the  close  of  a  sultry  day,  being  harmless. 
The  two  answers,  when  we  look  at  them  simply  as  isolated 
statements,  flatly  contradict  each  other,  you  observe ;  but  when 
we  regard  them  in  connection  with  the  respective  questions 
that  elicited  them,  they  are  both  true,  and  both  fitted  to  help 
the  inquirer  to  a  full  view  of  the  subject  in  which  he  is  in- 
terested. Similarly,  to  him  who  asks,  '  Is  it  faith  that  justifies, 
or  works  ?'  Paul  replies,  *  Faith  alone  justifies,  without  works.' 
,  To  him  who,  knowing  and  believing  this,  asks  further,  '  But 
'  does  all  faith  justify?'  James  answers,  'Faith  alone,  without 
works,  does  Jiot  justify,' — for  an  inoperative  faith  is  dead, 
powerless,  unprofitable.  Both  statements,  looked  at  in  con- 
nection with  the  questions  they  are  respectively  meant  to 
answer,  are  true,  and  both  of  vast  importance.  Faith  alone 
justifies,  but  not  the  faith  which  is  aloiie.^ 

^  The  illustration  given  in  this  paragraph  is  simply  an  amplification  of  a 
hint  contained  in  a  letter  of  the  late  Rev.  Frederick  Robertson  of  Brighton, 
printed  in  his  Life  (vol.  ii.  p.  64). 


VER.  25-]  yiLstifying Faith  a  Working  Faith.     225 

Our  apostle  proceeds  to  bring  forward  another  instance  of 
justifying  faith,  and  to  show  that  in  that  case  too  the  faith  pro- 
duced works.  As  has  been  already  mentioned,  Rahab  is  one 
of  the  heroines  of  faith  commemorated  in  Hebrews ;  and  it  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  her  case  was  one  not  unfrequently 
cited  in  the  discussions  of  the  Jews  regarding  the  nature  and 
power  of  this  grace.  James's  object  in  here  referring  to  it 
in  particular  is  not  far  to  seek,  and  is  suggested  indeed  in 
the  original  by  an  introductory  particle  marking  slight  con- 
trast, which  our  translators  have  not  rendered.  The  position 
which  the  apostle  is  maintaining  is,  that  all  justifying  faith  is 
operative ;  and  it  is  plain  that  the  wider  the  range  of  classes 
represented  by  his  illustrative  instances,  the  more  effective  is 
his  argument.  Now,  no  persons  could  well  be  further  apart 
in  everything  except  their  faith  than  Abraham,  the  illustrious 
father  of  God's  chosen  race,  and  poor,  ignorant  Rahab,  brought 
up  in  the  midst  of  heathenism,  and  actually  at  one  time  living 
a  life  of  immorality.  If  genuine  justifying  faith  bore  in  her 
as  well  as  in  Abraham  the  fruit  of  good  works  suitable  to  her 
circumstances,  then  it  may  fairly  be  concluded  (these  persons 
representing  the  extremes)  that  the  faith  of  all  the  justified  is 
fruit-bearing.  Rahab,  in  Jericho,  pondering  the  reports  that 
had  reached  her  of  the  character  and  doings  of  the  God  of 
Israel,  had  come  through  the  teaching  of  His  Spirit  to  have 
faith  in  Him, — ^justifying  faith,  our  inspired  writer  tells  us, — 
faith,  the  approval  of  which  by  God  was  evinced  in  His  rais- 
ing her  to  a  position  of  dignity  in  Israel,  and  giving  her  the 
lofty  honour  of  being  an  ancestress  of  the  Messiah.  Now  her 
faith,  like  Abraham's,  had  very  manifest  visible  effects.  She 
'  received''  Joshua's  messengers  kindly,  because  they  were  ser- 
vants of  the  God  of  Israel.  She  exerted  herself,  too,  at  much 
personal  risk,  to  deliver  them  from  the  danger  to  which  they 
were  exposed  in  a  hostile  city, '  sending  them  out '  with  urgency, 
in  deep  anxiety  for  their  safety,^ — and  this  by  '  another  7vay,' 
showing  her  heartiness  and  her  inventiveness  in  the  cause  of 
Israel  by  not  leaving  the  men  to  the  hazard  of  an  attempt  to 

'  Urgency  is  implied  in  the  original  word  translated  '  sent  out. ' 
P 


226         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  ii. 

pass  out  through  the  well-guarded  city  gate,  by  which  they  had 
come  in,  but  letting  them  down  from  her  window,  which  over- 
hung the  wall.  All  justifying  faith,  then,  we  see,  in  whatever 
class  of  persons  it  is  found,  produces  works,  varying  in  kind 
according  to  circumstances,  but  all  expressive  of  love  to  God, 
and  trust  in  Him. 

From  the  nature  of  the  case — from  the  nature  of  God,  and 
man,  and  salvation — it  must  be  so  :  '■for  as  the  body  without  the 
spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead  also.'  James  here 
closes  his  discussion  of  the  great  subject  by  repeating,  as  now 
conclusively  demonstrated,  the  proposition  with  which  in  the 
twentieth  verse  this  section  began.  The  form  of  his  compari- 
son somewhat  startles  us,  habituated  as  we  are  to  think  of 
faith  as  the  spirit  or  animating  principle  of  religion,  and  godly 
works  as  the  body.  But,  as  you  will  remember,  throughout 
the  whole  disquisition  from  the  fourteenth  verse,  the  term 
'  faith '  has  been  taken  in  a  very  wide  sense,  as  including  any 
measure  of  assent  to  divine  truth,  from  the  barest  and  coldest 
to  the  most  intense  and  influential ;  and  the  persons  for  whose 
benefit  mainly  the  apostle's  observations  have  been  intended 
were  such  as  the  man  spoken  of  in  the  fourteenth  verse,  who 
*  said  he  had  faith,  but  had  not  works.'  Naturally  enough, 
then,  in  the  image  before  us,  fai^j,  thought  of  as  the  holding 
and  professing  of  a  creed,  is  •rep.re.seuied  as  a  '  body,\  which 
^  without  the  spirit'  of  loye,  and  trust,  and  obedience,  'is  dead.' 
Strictly  speaking,  you  observe,  the  '  spirit '  is  not '  works '  them- 
selves, but  rather  the  principle  in  the  soul,  the  energetic  con- 
victions and  affections,  by  which  '  works '  are  produced ;  but 
the  apostle,  to  bring  his  argument  home,  adheres  to  the  term 
that  he  has  employed  throughout  the  discussion,  the  sense 
being  sufliciently  clear.  The  solemn  and  impressive  state- 
ment made  in  this  verse  very  fittingly  winds  up  this  great 
argument.  No  one  who  has  honestly  and  thoughtfully  fol- 
lowed it  can  entertain  any  doubt  that  the  only  faith  which 
can  be  pleasing  to  God  is  such  a  profound  and  influential 
belief  of  His  truth  as  reveals  its  presence  in  the  soul  by  moral 
beauty  and  earnest  devotedness  in  the  outward  life.     A  sup- 


VER.  26.]  y testifying  Faith  a  Working  Faith,     227 

posed  and  professed  faith  which  has  no  such  results  is  a  dead 
thing;  and  only  where  there  is  spiritual  life  in  God's  moral 
creatures,  can  He  regard  them  with  complacency.  An  inopera- 
tive faith  is  a  corpse  passing  to  corruption — utterly  loathsome 
in  His  sight. 


2  28     .    Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  iii. 


XV. 

RESPONSIBILITY   OF   TEACHERS. 

'  My  brethren,  be  not  many  masters,  knowing  that  we  shall  receive  the 
greater  condemnation.  2  For  in  many  things  we  offend  all.  If  any 
man  offend  not  in  word,  the  same  is  a  perfect  man,  and  able  also  to 
bridle  the  whole  body.' — ^James  in.  I,  2. 

IN  this  chapter  the  apostle  discusses  the  sins  of  the  tongue, — 
a  new  subject,  but  one  naturally  arising  out  of  the  pre- 
ceding. Whenever  mere  adherence  to  a  creed  becomes  the 
matter  mainly  regarded  among  a  body  of  professing  Christians, 
and  the  influence  of  the  creed  on  heart  and  life  sinks  almost 
out  of  view, — whenever  questions  of  orthodoxy,  however  im- 
portant in  themselves,  exclude  vital  religion  from  the  fore- 
ground of  thought, — talk  on  points  of  doctrine  and  church 
procedure  will  superabound,  and,  through  the  absence  or 
feebleness  of  Christian  love,  will  lead  to  bitter  wrangling  and 
many  forms  of  sin.  The  history  of  the  church  affords  a  multi- 
tude of  illustrations  of  this  tendency.  Many  of  the  Jewish 
Christians  to  whom  James  wrote,  no  doubt  brought  with  them 
into  their  Christianity  much  Pharisaic  leaven  received  from 
their  training  in  Judaism.  Among  them,  consequently,  one 
can  easily  suppose  the  tendency  I  have  mentioned  to  have 
been  peculiarly  strong ;  and  from  the  apostle's  tone  it  is 
obvious  that,  in  fact,  it  had  shown  itself  to  a  considerable 
extent  James's  strong  feeling  on  the  subject  of  religious 
wranglings  has  already  spoken  out  again  and  again :  '  My 
beloved  brethren,  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to 
speak,  slow  to  wrath  ; '  '  If  any  man  among  you  seem  to  be 
religious,  and  bridleth  not  his  tongue,  but  deceiveth  his  own 
heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vain'  (i.  19,  26).     In  this  chapter. 


VER.  I.]         Responsibility  of  Teachers.  229 

however,  he  takes  up  the  subject  more  fully,  and  by  touching 
on  the  dangers  connected  with  over-fondness  for  talk  on  reli- 
gious matters,  is  led  to  enlarge  on  the  sins  of  the  tongue 
generally. 

He  begins  his  remarks  with  the  advice,  '  My  brethren,  he  not 
many  masters!'  It  is  not  improbable  that,  from  the  ambiguity 
of  the  English  word  '  master^  some  of  you  have  failed  to  attach 
a  definite  sense  to  these  words,  or  perhaps  have  attached  a 
wrong  one.  The  radical  idea  of  the  word  is  that  of  superiority 
and  government;  but  in  the  particular  relations  of  an  instructor, 
the  'master'  of  a  school,  to  his  pupils,  the  idea  of  teaching 
becomes  the  most  prominent.  Very  often  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment the  word  has  this  special  meaning,  as  when  Jesus  is 
addressed  as  '  Master,'  when  Nicodemus  is  spoken  of  as  'a 
master  of  Israel,'  and  the  like.  In  these  cases  the  word  in  the 
original  means  simply  '  teacher,'  not  a  master  as  contrasted 
with  a  servant  or  slave.  So  also  in  the  passage  before  us  the 
reference  is  not  (immediately  at  least)  to  lordship  over  others — . 
to  conduct  and  character  like  that  of  Diotrephes,  who  '  loved 
to  have  the  pre-eminence '  (3  John  9) — but  simply  to  teaching. 
James's  injunction  is,  '  Be  not  many  of  yon  teachers^  or,  accord- 
ing to  the  force  of  the  rendering  in  our  authorized  version, 
*  Be  not  (each  congregation  of  you)  a  mnltitude  of  teachers 
(instead  of  learners).'  It  is  not  easy  to  decide  which  of  the 
two  renderings  brings  out  the  exact  shade  of  meaning  in- 
tended. 

As  I  have  had  occasion  to  mention  in  a  previous  lecture,  we 
gather  from  various  statements  in  the  apostoHc  writings,  that  in 
the  first  age  the  public  religious  services  of  the  church  were  to 
some  extent  of  a  conversational  character.  From  the  begin- 
ning the  apostles  gave  the  churches  a  regular  organization, 
ordaining  elders,  on  whom  (and  particularly  on  one  or  more  of 
them  whose  gifts  seemed  specially  to  qualify  them  for  *  labouring 
in  the  word  and  doctrine '  as  well  as  ruling)  rested  mainly  the 
duty  of  conducting  public  worship  and  instructing  the  congre- 
gation ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  an  opportunity  was  freely  given 
for  exposition  or  exhortation  by  other  members.     *  Despise  not 


230         Lecttires  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes,    [ch.  hi. 

prophesyings,'  is  an  instruction  given  by  Paul  to  his  spiritual 
children  at  Thessalonica ;  and  we  cannot  doubt  that,  so  long 
as  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  prophesying  and 
other  modes  of  benefiting  the  brethren  were  bestowed  on  be- 
lievers, the  system  of  free  converse  in  the  public  assemblies 
was  on  the  whole  advantageous.  It  is  evident,  however,  that 
even  then  it  offered  to  many  a  strong  temptation  to  display 
and  disputatiousness;  and  gradually  everywhere,  the  miraculous 
gifts  ceasing,  it  was  found  needful  to  introduce  the  system  which 
has  ever  since  prevailed  in  the  church.  James's  advice  in  the  ''-f 
words  before  us,  then, — an  advice  plainly  implying  that  serious 
abuses  of  the  privilege  of  free  speech  in  the  meetings  of  the 
church  already  existed, — is  that  his  readers  should  not  in  great 
numbers  press  forward  as  exhorters  and  instructors  in  the 
public  assemblies  of  the  brethren.  There  were  grave  spiritual 
hazards  connected  with  this,  even  where  men  had  considerable 
religious  knowledge  ;  and  for  very  many  the  proper  place  was 
manifestly  that  of  learners,  not  teachers. 

From  the  mode  in  which  the  public  services  of  religion  are 
generally  conducted  in  the  church  now,  our  apostle's  advice  to 
the  congregations  of  his  time  is  not  usually,  with  exactly  its 
original  reference,  applicable  to  a  modern  congregation.  With 
regard  to  these  public  services,  however,  in  the  form  in  which 
we  have  them,  the  spirit  of  the  injunction  might  not  unfaith- 
fully, I  think,  be  given  thus  :  '  Cultivate  a  teachable  and  impres- 
sible disposition, — a  disposition  to  seek  spiritual  good  rather 
than  to  criticise.'  But  observe  what  I  mean  by  '  criticise.' 
Every  minister  whose  heart  is  in  his  work,  and  who  has  sound 
ideas  regarding  the  objects  of  the  work,  and  the  way  in  which 
these  are  to  be  gained,  delights  in  an  intelligent  congregation, 
attentive  and  thoughtful,  disposed  to  weigh  all  that  he  says  to 
them  for  themselves,  bringing  it  all  to  the  touchstone  of  '  the 
law  and  the  testimony.'  It  is  truly  mournful  that  so  many 
members  and  adherents  of  Christian  churches  seem  to  throw 
away  upon  the  world  all  the  understanding  God  has  given 
them ;  so  that,  while  thoughtful  and  inquiring  among  their 
goods  and  merchandise,  shrewd  and  penetrating,  taking  nothing 


VER.  I.]         Responsibility  of  Teachers.  231 

on  trust,  but  sifting  carefully  everything  that  concerns  their 
secular  prosperity,  they  put  their  minds  to  sleep  when  they 
open  their  Bibles  or  enter  the  sanctuary.  In  saying  that  the 
spirit  of  the  apostle's  advice  here  may  partly  be  represented 
by  '  My  brethren,  be  not  a  multitude  of  critics,'  I  am  as  far  as 
possible  from  referring  to  that  criticism  which  is  involved  in 
considerate,  discriminative  hearing  of  the  word  by  candid  and 
right-hearted  persons.  Would  that  tlie  Divine  Head  of  the 
church  would  make  such  criticism  abound  ! — for  this  is  the 
life  of  a  congregation.  Ay,  and  the  knowledge,  too,  that  there 
are  among  one's  flock  members  here  and  there  who,  from  their 
abilities  and  education,  are  qualified  to  analyse  their  minister's 
arguments,  or  review  for  themselves  his  expositions, — this  is 
a  most  healthful  stimulus  to  exertion,  not  unneeded  at  times 
even  by  the  most  conscientious  servant  of  God. 

But  there  is  another  kind  of  criticism,  very  different  in  spirit 
from  that  of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  wholly  opposed  to  it  in 
tendency.  The  spiritual  evil,  or  at  least  one  prominent  among 
the  evils,  against  which  James's  exhortation  was  directed,  was, 
no  doubt,  the  indulgence  of  the  pride  of  knowledge — of  an  arro- 
gant conviction,  very  often  in  persons  who  were  really  extremely 
ignorant  and  foolish,  that  they  had  no  need  to  learn  anything 
from  their  brethren,  but  were  fully  equipped  as  teachers.  Now 
I  am  afraid  that  a  carping  and  supercilious  spirit,  which,  if 
those  who  indulge  it  thought  out  the  matter,  they  would  find 
to  rest  very  much  on  the  same  basis,  is  far  from  uncommon  in 
our  congregations.  These  people  come  to  God's  house  not  to 
receive  food  for  the  mind  and  heart,  but  to  judge  composition, 
and  orthodoxy,  and  manner  of  delivery.  They  act  rather  as  if 
they  were  members  of  a  court  of  examiners,  trying  a  student's 
qualifications  for  the  ministry,  than  either  as  enlightened  Chris- 
tians or  anxious  inquirers  after  salvation,  hearing  for  the  good  of 
their  souls  the  words  of  eternal  life  from  their  pastor  and  God's 
servant.  To  a  minister  visiting  a  member  of  his  congregation, 
on  whom  the  shadow  of  death  had  fallen,  the  dying  man  said,  '  I 
think,  sir,  the  word  of  the  Lord  makes  comparatively  such  little 
way  among  church-goers  mainly  because  so  many  hear  sermons 


232         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

to  criticise  rather  than  to  learn ;  and  so  on  the  way  home,  or 
during  the  Sabbath  evening  afterwards,  if  they  speak  on  the 
subject  at  all,  it  is  far  oftener  about  little  matters  connected 
with  the  preaching,  than  about  the  truth  declared  as  truth  for 
their  hearts.'  These  words  are  weighty,  I  think — weighty  with 
such  solemn  truth  as  the  shadow  of  death  is  calculated  to  bring 
out  into  special  vividness  before  the  soul. 

But  looking  to  the  form  as  well  as  the  spirit  ofthe  apostle's 
words,  we  find  in  them  thus  also  very  important  instruction  for 
ourselves,  no  less  than  for  the  churches  ofthe  twelve  tribes 
scattered  abroad,'  to  which  they  were  primarily  addressed. 
We  must  not  press  his  principle  further  than  he  himself,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  speaking  through  him,  intended  it  to  go. 
His  meaning  clearly  is,  that  whenever  in  any  Christian  com- 
munity a  large  proportion  of  the  members  give  themselves  to 
teaching  rather  than  learning,  there  is  much  reason  to  fear 
that  something  is  weak  and  wrong  somewhere ;  just  as,  in  a 
civil  community,  if  a  very  great  number  of  persons  put  them- 
selves forward  to  act  as  magistrates,  giving  their  time  and 
thoughts  more  to  the  regulation  of  the  affairs  of  others  than 
to  the  regulation  of  their  own,  there  would,  beyond  question, 
be  a  good  deal  of  unsatisfactory  regulation,  and  much  detri- 
ment to  the  commonwealth  in  various  ways. 

Were  the  Apostle  James  living  in  our  day,  he  would  no  doubt 
remember  and  echo  his  Lord's  words,  who,  'when  He  saw  the 
multitudes,  was  moved  with  compassion  on  them,  because  they 
fainted,  and  were  scattered  abroad,  as  sheep  having  no  shep- 
herd. Then  saith  He  unto  His  disciples.  The  harvest  truly  is 
plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few :  Pray  ye  therefore  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  He  will  send  forth  labourers  into  His 
harvest.'  He  would  lament  that,  with  unparalleled  openings 
among  the  nations  for  the  extension  of  the  gospel — with  the 
cry  sounding  out  from  every  side  in  the  ear  of  the  church, 
'  Come  over  and  help  us ' — still  comparatively  such  a  small 
number  of  young  men  are  found  in  our  schools  of  theology 
preparing  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  And  he  would  seek 
earnestly  to  impress  on  our  Christian  youth,  that  slight — in 


VER.  I.]         Responsibility  of  Teachers.  233 

very  many  cases  most  miserably  and  inexcusably  small  —as  are 
the  worldly  inducements  connected  with  the  ministerial  office, 
and  awfully  solemn  and  weighty  as  are  its  responsibilities,  yet 
the  work  is  in  its  nature  incomparably  the  noblest  of  all  work, 
and  the  joys  springing  from  the  conscientious  discharge  of 
its  duties  will  certainly  in  the  eternal  world  be  peculiarly 
lofty  and  sweet ;  whilst  even  on  earth,  amid  many  things  to 
sadden  and  discourage  a  faithful  minister,  he  has  often  com- 
forts specially  refreshing  and  cheering.  Remembering,  too,  and 
echoing  Paul's  injunction  to  'all  the  saints  in  Christ  Jesus 
at  Philippi' — the  private  members  as  well  as  the  'bishops 
and  deacons' — to  '  shine  as  lights  in  the  world,  holding  forth 
the  word  of  life,'  and  the  command  given  by  the  Saviour  in  the 
Apocalypse, '  Let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come,' — James,  were  he 
living  now,  would  rejoice  to  see  multitudes  of  believers,  gifted 
with  discretion,  and  self-knowledge,  and  intimate  acquaintance 
with  Scripture,  teaching  the  ignorant,  pleading  with  the  way- 
ward, or  trying  to  instruct  Christian  brethren  less  enlightened 
than  themselves,  at  their  homes,  or  in  classes  or  meetings  of 
various  kinds.  In  regard  to  labour  of  this  sort  by  Christians 
of  this  sort,  James  would  say,  as  Moses  did  when  Eldad  and 
Medad  prophesied  in  the  camp,  'Would  God  that  all  the 
Lord's  people  were  prophets,  and  that  the  Lord  would  put  His 
Spirit  upon  them  ! ' 

Yet,  while  all  this  is  true,  and  truth  which  it  is  of  the 
highest  importance  for  us  all  to  bear  in  mind,  still,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Divine  Spirit  says  to  us  through  our  apostle, 
*  My  brethren,  be  not  many  masters.'  There  are  most  serious 
spiritual  dangers  connected  with  the  rash  assumption  of  the 
position  of  a  religious  teacher, — dangers  both  for  the  per- 
sons themselves  who  take  the  position,  and  for  those  whom 
they  undertake  to  instruct.  This  is  a  fact  which  needs  to  be 
borne  in  mind  particularly  in  seasons  of  religious  excitement. 
At  such  times  num.bers  of  young  and  inexperienced  converts, 
in  the  ardour  of  their  first  love  to  their  Saviour  (a  flame,  as 
Dr.  Wardlaw  well  observes,  'usually  blended  with  more  or 
less  of  smoke '),  are  impelled  by  their  feelings  to  come  forward 


234         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

into  considerable  prominence  as  'masters  of  Israel;'  and  in 
cases  of  this  kind, — the  ballast  to  the  moral  nature  that  Christian 
experience  supplies  being  wanting,  in  many  instances  also  that 
which  is  afforded  by  a  good  general  education, — little  religious 
knowledge  showing  itself,  and  perhaps  less  prudence, — there  is 
obviously  very  great  peril  that  the  teacher  may  be  puffed  up 
into  a  most  arrogant  and  foolish  self-confidence,  that  his  pupils 
may  be  miserably  ill-taught,  or  indeed,  simply  through  their 
master's  ignorance,  seriously  misled,  and  that  in  various  ways 
no  little  occasion  may  be  given  to  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  to 
blaspheme. 

Both  sides  of  the  truth  on  this  subject  need  to  be  care- 
fully pondered  by  us,  brethren :  on  the  one  hand,  the  clear 
injunction,  '  Let  him  that  heareth  say.  Come ;'  and  on  the 
other,  the  no  less  clear  injunction,  '  Be  not  many  masters,' 
The  decision  in  regard  to  each  Christian's  immediate  duty 
must  be  left  to  his  own  judgment,  through  which,  if  he  candidly 
weigh  the  matter,  and  pray  for  God's  guidance,  the  Spirit  will 
give  him  light.  But  this  one  general  principle,  at  all  events, 
will,  I  apprehend,  be  in  all  cases  a  safe  one, — that  no  person 
is  called  upon  to  become  in  any  formal  way  a  '  master '  until, 
for  a  considerable  time  and  with  considerable  success,  he  has 
been  a  learner. 

James  supports  his  injunction  by  a  very  solemn  and  impres- 
sive argument :  '  Knowing  that  we  shall  receive  the  greater  con- 
demnation.^ Teachers  have  a  specially  heavy  responsibility. 
The  universal  principle  in  God's  dealings  with  His  moral 
creatures  is,  that  according  to  the  measure  of  opportunity  is 
the  measure  of  responsibility.  Now  the  office  of  a  religious 
teacher  is  necessarily  one  of  considerable  influence,  and  con- 
sequently of  proportional  responsibility  for  the  exercise  of  the 
influence.  Truth  is  God's  instrument  for  quickening,  comfort- 
ing, and  sanctifying  men  ;  and  hence,  when  one  who  is  looked 
to  as  an  instructor  fails  '  rightly  to  divide  the  word  of  truth,' 
others,  many  perhaps,  are  led  astray  by  him,  and  thus  withheld 
to  some  extent  from  experiencing  the  blessed  power  of  the 
gospel.     In  many  cases  this  may  be  done  through  culpable 


VER.  I.]         Responsibility  of  Teachers.  235 

ignorance  merely ;  but  there  are  strong  temptations  also  at 
times,  through  motives  of  worldly  interest,  to  conceal  or  slur 
over  some  portions  of  the  divine  testimony.  How  incalculable 
is  the  evil  that  may  thus  be  wrought !  The  deviation  from  the 
King's  highway  of  truth  may  seem  very  slight,  yet  some  hearers 
of  this  teaching  may,  by  temperament  or  circumstances,  be 
induced,  to  follow  the  divergent  path  right  on,  every  step  carry- 
ing them  further  from  the  way  of  peace,  until  '  their  feet 
stumble  upon  the  dark  mountains.'  In  olden  days  in  Canaan, 
had  a  man,  fleeing  to  a  city  of  refuge,  been  misdirected  with 
regard  to  the  road  by  one  who  professed  to  know  it,  and  been 
therefore  overtaken  by  the  avenger  of  blood,  and  slain,  what  a 
heavy  burden  of  responsibility  would  have  rested  on  the  head 
of  the  misleading  guide  !  How,  then,  shall  we  estimate  the 
awfulness  of  the  guilt  contracted  in  giving  misleading  direc- 
tions to  a  soul  anxious  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  !  Twice 
in  the  prophecies  of  Ezekiel  have  we  the  solemn  warning : 
'  Son  of  man,  I  have  made  thee  a  watchman  unto  the  house  of 
Israel :  therefore  hear  the  word  at  My  mouth,  and  give  them 
warning  from  Me.  When  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  Thou  shalt 
surely  die,  and  thou  givest  him  not  warning,  nor  speakest  to 
warn  the  wicked  from  his  wicked  way,  to  save  his  life,  the  same 
wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity :  but  his  blood  will  I  re- 
quire at  thine  hand.  Yet  if  thou  warn  the  wicked,  and  he  turn 
not  from  his  wickedness,  nor  from  his  wicked  way,  he  shall  die 
in  his  iniquity;  but  thou  hast  delivered  thy  soul.'  And  you 
remember  Paul's  declaration  before  the  elders  of  Ephesus 
regarding  his  ministry  among  them :  '  I  take  you  to  record 
this  day  that  I  am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men  ;  for  I  have 
not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God ;' 
implying  that  in  the  New  Testament  church  he  felt  the  same 
blood-guiltiness,  the  guilt  of  the  death  of  souls,  to  rest  on  an 
unfaithful  minister. 

You  will  observe,  however,  that  the  apostle's  words  are  not 
*  greater  responsibility,'  but  '  greater  co7ide7n7iation^  It  is  true, 
indeed,  that  the  strict  meaning  of  the  term  employed  in  the 
original  is  'judgment,'  which  our  translators  give  in  the  margin 


236         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes,    [ch.  hi. 

as  an  alternative  rendering ;  but  New  Testament  usage  leaves 
no  room  for  doubt  that  where  the  word  is  connected,  as  here, 
with  '  receive,'  a  condemnatory  judgment  is  intended.  Some 
interpreters  take  ^ condemnatioit'  here  in  a  very  wide  sense, 
including  not  merely  the  doom  of  the  lost,  appointment  to 
positive  suffering,  but  also  deprivation  of  the  highest  rewards 
of  grace, — as  in  the  case  of  the  man  in  the  parable,  who,  having 
with  his  pound  earned  five  pounds,  was  made  ruler  of  only  five 
cities,  while  his  neighbour,  who  with  his  pound  had  earned 
ten  pounds,  obtained  from  his  gracious  master  the  dominion 
of  ten  cities ;  or  of  those  teachers  of  whom  Paul  speaks  in 
the  third  chapter  of  First  Corinthians,  who,  having  built  on 
the  one  foundation,  Jesus  Christ,  are  saved,  but  having  through 
culpable  ignorance  and  folly  built  into  the  wall  of  the  temple 

*  wood,  and  hay,  and  stubble,'  see  their  work  burned,  and  thus 
suffer  loss,  and  are  themselves  saved  only  like  persons  dragged 

*  through  fire.'  On  this  view,  the  logical  connection  between 
the  clause  before  us  and  the  next  is  immediate  and  perfect ; 
thus  :  '  We  who  are  teachers — all  of  us,  apostles  as  well  as 
others — shall  receive  greater  condemnation  than  those  who  in 
positions  of  less  influence  err  like  us, — condenmation,  I  say,  for 
in  many  things  we  all  offend.'  Even  the  most  faithful  teacher, 
the  man  who,  '  having  turned  many  to  righteousness,  shall  shine 
as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever,'  stands  in  regard  to  wisdom  and 
devotedness  far  below  the  position  to  which,  had  he  used  his 
opportunities  to  the  full,  he  might  have  attained,  and  '  in  many 
things  offends.'  This  wide  sense  of  *  condemnation,'  however, 
does  not  seem  to  accord  with  Scripture  usage,  and  indeed 
appears  to  oppose  itself  to  express  Scripture  teachings  for  '  there 
is  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus' — even 
to  those  of  them  who  are  '  saved  so  as  by  fire.'  The  real 
meaning  and  connection,  I  apprehend,  may  be  thus  exhibited : 

*  Knowing,  as  ye  do  or  ought  to  do,^  that  if  we  who  are  teachers 
act  unfaithfully,  we  shall  receive  greater  condemnation  than 
others, — and  condemnation,  alas,  is  no  impossible  or  even  un- 

^  The  ^knowing,''  being  closely  associated  with  the  command,  'Be  not 
many  masters,'  may  be  held  to  have  itself  somewhat  of  an  imperative  force. 


VER.  2.]         Responsibility  of  Teachers,  237 

likely  issue,  for  in  many  things  we  all  offend.'  The  sternest 
sentence  will  certainly  be  for  him  who  not  merely  is  himselt 
without  the  wedding  garment,  but  has  by  his  teaching  or  his 
example  kept  others  out  of  the  feast-chamber,  or  induced  them 
to  enter  without  the  wedding  garment.  The  apostle's  humility 
leads  him  to  class  himself  with  the  other  teachers,  in  speaking 
of  their  spiritual  hazards  ('  we  shall  receive '),  just  as  similarly, 
through  tenderness  of  conscience,  he  says  in  the  ninth  verse  of 
this  chapter,  '  With  the  tongue  bless  we  God,  and  with  the 
tongue  curse  tue  men.' 

The  proper  meaning  of  the  word  ^offend,'  which  exactly 
represents  the  term  employed  in  the  original,  is  to  strike  the 
foot  against  some  obstacle — '  to  trip '  or  '  stumble.'  In  the 
metaphorical  application  the  idea  obviously  is,  that  for  the 
exercise  of  all  the  powers  which  God  has  given  us  He  has 
appointed  a  way  in  which  we  should  walk ;  that  is  to  say, 
He  has  bestowed  these  powers  upon  us  for  certain  ends ;  and 
to  '  offend '  or  stumble  is  simply  to  employ  them  for  other 
ends,  or  at  least  to  fail  to  employ  them  for  those  appointed 
by  God.  Now,  ^  in  many  things  we  all  offend.''  The  ground 
here  pointed  to  by  James  for  his  assertion  of  the  risk  of 
'  condemnation,'  is  one  which  will  be  recognised  as  valid  by 
all  who  either  believe  the  Bible  or  know  themselves.  A  man 
who  counts  himself  sinless  simply  illustrates  the  deceitfulness 
of  the  heart ;  for  '  if  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive 
ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.' 

To  the  argument  derived  from  the  universal  weakness  and 
sinfulness  of  man  our  apostle  appends  another,  founded  on 
the  peculiarly  great  facility  with  which  men  fall  into  offences 
of  the  tongue.  '  If  any  man  offend  not  in  word,  the  same  is  a 
perfect  man,  and  able  also  to  bridle  the  whole  body.''  The  exact 
connection  of  these  words  with  the  preceding,  and  their  argu- 
mentative force,  may  be  brought  out  thus :  '  In  many  things 
we  all  offend ;  and  to  avoid  offending  with  the  tongue  is  pecu- 
liarly difficult — so  difficult,  indeed,  that  it  may  safely  be  said, 
that  a  man  who  has  sufficient  strength  of  principle  and  spiritual 
vigilance  to  offend  not  in  word,  is  able  also  to  bridle  the  whole 


238         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

body.  Now,  in  regard  to  speech,  a  person  who  occupies  the 
position  of  a  teacher  obviously  has  particularly  great  spiritual 
dangers,  seeing  that  so  much  of  his  work  has  to  be  done  by 
speaking  ;  that  in  prosecuting  it  he  is  liable  to  be  drawn  into 
heated  controversy  ;  and  that  from  the  prominence  given  him 
by  his  office,  the  influence  for  evil  upon  others  of  his  offences 
of  the  tongue  is  likely  to  be  great.  Considering  these  things, 
brethren,  do  not  rashly  assume  this  heavy  responsibility.'  But 
whilst  such  appears  to  be  the  relation  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
second  verse  to  what  goes  before,  the  statement  contained  in 
it  is  expressed  in  the  widest  form,  and  leads  from  the  remarks 
regarding  teachers  and  their  responsibilities  into  that  most 
interesting  and  impressive  paragraph  on  the  power  and  un- 
tameableness  of  the  tongue  generally,  which  constitutes  the 
larger  part  of  this  chapter. 

The  essence  of  the  passage,  looked  at  in  its  logical  relation 
to  the  injunction  in  the  first  verse,  is  simply  the  truth  that 
'  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  avoid  sinning  with  the  tongue ;' 
but  instead  of  putting  it  in  this  bald  form,  James  supposes 
the  case  of  a  man  who  is  free  from  offences  of  this  class,  and 
remarks  that  one  who  has  reached  this  point  of  excellence  is 
'■perfect^ — the  master  of  all  his  constitutional  tendencies  to 
evil.  To  the  moral  power  of  a  man  who  can  govern  his  tongue 
there  are  no  limits.  By  'perfect '  appears  to  be  intended  here, 
as  in  the  fourth  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  a  maturity  of  reli- 
gious life,  a  ripeness  and  richness  of  knowledge  and  character, 
such  as  may  be  supposed  to  mark  the  full-grown  man,  as 
contrasted  with  the  babe  in  Christ.  In  the  other  passage  just 
referred  to,  it  is  explained  by  the  added  words,  '  entire,  want- 
ing nothing ;'  which  teach  us  that  whilst  intensity,  depth  in  the 
action  of  religious  principle  and  feeling,  is  implied,  yet  breadth 
of  range,  the  action  of  godliness  over  every  department  of  our 
inner  being  and  our  outward  life,  is  also  an  essential  element, 
and  in  that  passage  the  most  prominent.  Similarly,  in  the  pre- 
sent place,  the  explanation  is  appended,  ^  able  also  to  bridle 
the  whole  body'  The  ^ and'  which  introduces  this  last  clause 
in  our  version  is  merely  a  supplement  by  the  translators,  and 


VER.  2.]         Responsibility  of  Teachers,  239 

the  meaning  would  really  be  clearer  without  it.  A  '  perfect ' 
man  is  one  who,  through  the  energies  of  his  Christian  prin- 
ciple, can  *  bridle^  or  hold  in  firm  restraint,  his  '  lohole  body^ 
all  its  organs  of  voluntary  action,  and  the  propensities  which 
work  in  them, — one  in  whom  not  certain  classes  of  passions 
merely  are  duly  governed,  but  the  whole  man,  the  whole  life, 
is  regulated  by  religion. 

To  '  offend,'  we  have  seen,  is  to  employ  our  powers  for 
other  ends  than  God  has  appointed,  or  at  least  to  neglect 
employing  them  for  the  appointed  ends.  Now  the  purposes 
for  which  speech  has  been  bestowed  upon  us  are  these :  to 
carry  on  the  business  of  life,  to  minister  to  the  needful  mental 
refreshment  of  ourselves  and  others,  to  help  our  fellow-men  by 
instruction,  encouragement,  and  comfort,  and  (the  highest  use 
of  all)  to  praise  God  and  hold  direct  communion  with  Him. 
When  speech  is  devoted  to  these  ends  in  suitable  proportions, 
and  to  no  other  ends,  there  is  freedom  from  '  offending  in  word.' 
Addressing  Christians  as  he  is,  one  can  hardly  suppose  that  the 
apostle,  in  here  speaking  of  the  extreme  difficulty  of  avoiding 
offences  of  the  tongue,  has  mainly  before  his  mind  such  gross 
offences  as  profanity  or  deliberate  calumny ;  for  sins  like  these 
one  can  scarcely  imagine  committed  by  any  one  who  has  given 
himself  to  the  Saviour,  at  least  except  under  circumstances 
of  the  very  strongest  temptation.  But  however  true  this  is 
in  regard  to  the  grossest  forms  of  sin  of  the  tongue,  yet  even 
for  experienced  Christians  there  is  great  hazard  of  falling 
into  many  offences  in  ■  word,  through  the  sudden  temptations 
that  are  continually  emerging  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of 
life.  How  often  the  fretting  cares  of  business  strike  out  the 
sparks  of  angry  words  !  In  our  social  gatherings  for  the  solace 
of  life,  how  strong  the  temptation  is  frequently  found  to  be  to 
argue  for  victory  rather  than  for  truth,  to  give  interest  and 
pungency  to  conversation  by  running  down  the  character  of 
absent  acquaintances,  to  point  a  joke  at  the  expense  of  per- 
fect truthfulness,  and  in  some  society  at  the  expense  of  perfect 
purity  or  perfect  reverence  for  the  word  of  God  !  If  we  were 
candidly,  before  we  retire  to  rest,  after  any  day  of  lively  inter- 


240         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  iii. 

course  with  our  fellows,  to  look  back,  trying  to  recal  what  we 
had  said,  and  how  we  had  said  it,  and  surveying  these  in  the 
light  shed  by  conscience  and  divine  revelation  on  the  proper 
purposes  of  speech,  would  many  of  us  have  great  satisfaction 
in  our  review  ? 

One  prominent  cause  of  '  offences  in  word  '  is  undoubtedly 
the  tendency,  which  is  very  strong  in  the  vast  majority  of 
people,  to  speak  much  more  than  is  needful  or  desirable.  '  In 
the  multitude  of  words,'  says  the  wise  man,  '  there  wanteth 
not  sin  ;  but  he  that  refraineth  his  lips  is  wise.'  The  exhorta- 
tion given  in  the  first  chapter  by  our  apostle,  with  particular 
reference  to  religious  discussions,  is  of  great  importance  and 
value  for  the  intercourse  of  life  generally :  '  Let  every  man  be 
swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak.'  If  we  review  the  talk  in  which 
we  have  taken  part  in  any  one  day,  what  an  amount  do  we  find 
to  have  been  spoken  that  was  not  at  all  worthy  to  be  said,  not 
at  all  fitted  either  to  instruct  or  to  give  rational  amusement ! 
what  a  mass  of  mere  '  idle  words,' — words  not  perhaps  having 
anything  wrong  in  them,  as  we  say,  yet  wholly  inoperative  with 
reference  to  any  of  the  great  ends  of  speech  !  ay,  what  a  mul- 
titude too,  in  many  cases,  of  positively  hurtful  wrong  words  ! 
For  example,  are  not  nine-tenths  of  what  we  say  or  hear  said 
on  personal  character  usually  hurtful  and  wrong  ?  Conversa- 
tion turns  on  such  subjects  largely  because  really  valuable 
thoughts  are  wanting,  whilst  yet  there  is  a  desire  to  say  some- 
thing,— something  that  may  interest  at  least  the  lower  if  not 
the  higher  elements  of  our  nature.  Is  conversation  on  per- 
sonal character  often  perfectly  truthful  and  charitable,  perfectly 
free  from  the  imputation  of  imaginary  motives,  or  from  some 
form  of  detraction  which  ministers  by  comparison  to  the  vanity 
of  the  speaker  ?  '  Judge  not,'  said  the  Master,  '  that  ye  be 
not  judged  :  for  with  what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be 
judged ;  and  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured 
to  you  again.'  The  more  we  think  of  this  matter,  the  more 
we  shall  be  humbled,  by  feeling  how  little  we  have  used  God's 
noble  gift  of  speech  for  the  noble  purposes  for  which  it  was 
bestowed — how  much  we  have  abused  it  to  the  dishonour  of 


VER.  2.]         Responsibility  of  Teachers.  241 

God,  and  the  injury  of  ourselves  and  our  fellows.  To  be  free 
from  'offending  in  word,'  to  employ  the  tongue  for  the  great 
ends  that  God  intended,  and  for  no  other  ends, — this  will  task 
the  highest  energies  of  the  most  experienced  Christian. 

The  case  which  the  apostle  supposes,  of  a  man  who  '  offends 
not  in  word,'  is  one  which  will  not  with  absolute  exactness  be 
reahzed :  for,  beyond  question,  speech  is  among  the  '  many 
things'  mentioned  in  the  previous  clause  in  which  we  'all 
offend ;'  and  indeed,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  truth  under- 
lying and  forming  the  basis  of  the  argument  here  is,  that  we 
are  more  apt  to  '  offend  in  word '  than  in  anything  else.  But 
James  would  have  us  take  home  this  thought,  that  in  propor- 
tion as  a  Christian  advances  towards  complete  government  of 
the  tongue,  does  he  grow  in  spiritual  maturity.  We  all  know 
that  nothing  is  generally  esteemed  to  be  a  better  evidence  of 
the  state  of  a  man's  heart,  than  the  habitual  tone  of  his  con- 
versation. Just  as  we  see  the  measure  of  his  intellect  by  the 
subjects  on  which  he  can  speak,  and  loves  to  speak,  so  from 
the  usual  character  of  his  talk  we  form  decided  conclusions, 
legitimately  enough,  at  least  within  certain  limits,  regarding  his 
amiability,  his  manliness,  his  piety.  As  naturally  as  a  fountain 
sends  out  into  the  channel  of  the  stream  such  water  as  gushes 
up  from  the  depths,  and  thus  by  tasting  the  water  in  the  stream 
we  know  the  sweetness  or  the  bitterness  of  the  water  in  the 
fountain,  however  hidden  it  be ;  so  '  out  of  the  abundance  of 
the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh,'  'How  can  ye,  being  evil, 
speak  good  things?'  'A  good  man,  out  of  the  good  treasure 
of  his  heart,  bringeth  forth  good  things ;  and  an  evil  man,  out 
of  the  evil  treasure,  bringeth  forth  evil  things.'  It  is  impossible 
permanently  to  prevent  this.  '  My  heart  was  hot  within  me,' 
says  the  Psalmist;  'while  I  was  musing,  the  fire  burned  :  then 
spake  I  with  my  tongue.'  Hence  the  best  test  of  the  moral 
condition  of  the  affections  is  the  ordinary  tone  of  cotiversation. 
To  a  youth  of  a  fair  countenance  Socrates  said,  '  Speak,  friend, 
that  I  may  see  thee.'  A  habitual  purity,  lovingness,  and  dis- 
creetness of  language,  then,  proves  that  the  heart  is  filled  with 
love  to  God  and  man.     In  regard  to  Jesus,  the  only  absolutely 

Q 


242         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  hi. 

perfect  man,  it  is  written  not  only  that  He  ^  did  no  sin/  but 
also  that  'no  guile  was  found  in  His  mouth;'  that  'when  He 
was  reviled,  He  reviled  not  again  ;  when  He  suffered,  He 
threatened  not;'  and  that  'grace  was  poured  into  His  lips.'  And 
in  the  degree  in  which  our  holiness  of  language  approaches 
His,  we  have  reason  to  beHeve  that  our  inner  nature  has  been 
'  changed  by  the  Lord  the  Spirit  into  His  image.' 

But  whilst  thus,  like  pure  waters  from  a  pure  fountain,  a  wise, 
chastened,  godly  use  of  the  tongue  is  a  direct  and  natural  issue 
from  holiness  of  heart,  the  apostle's  words  present  prominently 
the  aspect  of  restraint — '  bridling^ — which  must  be  one  aspect 
of  all  holiness  in  man  so  long  as  he  is  here  below.  Now  that 
power  to  control  the  tongue  is  an  evidence  of  ripe  godliness, 
appears  when  we  consider  such  points  as  these  :  the  facility  and 
rapidity  with  which  sins  of  the  tongue  are  committed  ;  the  great 
scope  for  '  offending '  afforded  by  the  manifold  needs  and  ap- 
plications of  speech ;  and  the  strong  influence  exerted  against 
earnest  effort  in  this  department  of  morals,  by  the  light  opinion 
generally  entertained  even  in  Christian  society  of  this  class  of 
offences.  You  know  how  little  is  thought  of  a  '  hasty  word,' 
'  a  slight  exaggeration  or  misrepresentation,' or  the  like.  Men 
are  apt  to  say,  or  at  least  to  speak  as  if  they  thought,  '  Our 
lips  are  our  own,  who  is  Lord  over  us?'  and  hence  multitudes 
who  would  recoil  with  horror  from  the  thought  of  being  un- 
punctual  or  dishonest  in  matters  of  money,  and  who  count 
themselves  harmless  and  kindly,  are  most  unjust  and  cruel  in 
language, — cheating  their  neighbour,  without  scruple,  of  his 
reputation — murdering  the  good  name  which  may  be  to  him 
more  precious  than  his  life.  Considering  all  these  things,  then, 
it  is  plain  that  if  a  man  takes  a  grave  view  of  this  subject,  and 
is  watchful  against  sins  of  the  tongue,  he  will  certainly  be  in  all 
other  departments  also  vigilant,  upright,  pure,  godly, — that  he 
who  has  grace  to  '  offend  not  in  word,'  has  grace  to  accomplish 
anything. 

Besides  being  a  most  satisfactory  evidence  of  general  moral 
discipline,  Christian  government  of  the  tongue  is  also  an  efir- 
cient  instrumefit  of  such  discipline — a  means  of  '  bridling  the 


VER.  2.]         Responsibility  of  Teixchei^s.  243 

whole  body.'  That  this  thought  is  involved  in  the  apostle's 
words  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second  verse,  is  clearly  shown  by 
the  illustrations  which  he  goes  on  to  adduce, — the  bit,  and  the 
helm,  which  direct  the  'whole  body'  of  the  horse — the  whole 
mass  of  the  ship.  To  suggest  this,  indeed,  and  thus  lead  the 
way  to  the  other  important  and  impressive  statements  regard- 
ing the  tongue,  which  it  was  his  purpose  to  lay  before  his 
readers,  may  have  been  the  chief  reason  for  his  giving  the 
passage  before  us  the  peculiar  form  it  has, — a  form  certainly 
not  the  most  natural  if  merely  the  argumentative  connection  of 
the  words  with  the  injunction  in  the  first  verse  be  regarded.^ 
The  point  in  morals  to  which  he  here  calls  our  attention  is 
one  of  much  interest,  and  one  with  which  every  person  who 
has  with  any  considerable  measure  of  seriousness  and  success 
endeavoured  to  rule  himself  has  some  acquaintance.  Energetic 
effort  directed  towards  the  regulation  of  the  tongue  has  a  most 
healthful  influence  on  the  whole  nature.  A  man  of  violent  temper, 
who,  when  the  gust  of  passion  comes,  has  Christian  wisdom 
and  power  of  will  enough  to  '  keep  the  door  of  his  lips,'  will  find 
not  merely  that  he  is  saved  from  speaking  words  which  might 
cause  him  and  others  sorrow,  but  that  through  prayerful,  persis- 
tent efibrts  of  this  kind,  the  power  of  the  evil  spirit  within  him 
is  broken, — as  certainly  as,  in  cases  where  passion  finds  free 
utterance,  the  power  of  the  demon  steadily  grows.  Or  again, 
where  vanity  is  a  besetting  sin,  in  no  direction  is  the  action  of 
a  manly  Christian  will  more  likely  to  be  helpful,  than  in  the 
endeavour  to  suppress  all  words  of  self-exaltation, — or  of  self- 
depreciation,  which  is  very  often,  and  in  persons  of  the  class 
supposed  would  almost  certainly  be,  only  a  very  thinly  dis- 
guised egotism.  Whatever  be  our  special  spiritual  weakness 
and  peril,  it  is  the  part  of  true  wisdom  to  say,  with  David,  '  I 
will  take  heed  to  my  ways,  that  I  sin  not  with  my  tongue ;  I 
will  keep  my  mouth  with  a  bridle;'  praying  with  him  always, 
at  the  same  time,  '  Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  before  my  mouth.' 

1  This  argumentative  connection,  indeed,  he  intimates  to  be  not  solely, 
perhaps  not  even  mainly,  in  his  mind,  by  omitting  an  introductory  particle 
of  dependence  or  conjunction. 


244         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  in. 


XVI. 
POWER   OF  THE  TONGUE. 

'  Behold,  we  put  bits  in  the  horses'  mouths,  that  they  may  obey  us  ;  and  we 
turn  about  their  whole  body.  4  Behold  also  the  ships,  which,  though 
they  be  so  great,  and  are  driven  of  fierce  winds,  yet  are  they  turned 
about  with  a  very  small  helm,  whithersoever  the  governor  listeth.  5 
Even  so  the  tongue  is  a  little  member,  and  boasteth  great  things. 
Behold  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth  !  6  And  the  tongue 
is  a  fire,  a  world  of  iniquity ;  so  is  the  tongue  among  our  members, 
that  it  defileth  the  whole  body,  and  setteth  on  fire  the  course  of  nature  ; 
and  it  is  set  on  fire  of  hell.' — James  hi.  3-6. 

THESE  verses  abundantly  illustrate  a  fact  which  must 
strike  every  attentive  reader  of  this  Epistle,  rigidly 
practical  though  its  substance  is — that  the  writer  had  in  a  high 
degree  a  poet's  eye  and  sympathies.  He  had  a  keen  and  deli- 
cate perception  of  the  analogies  between  the  spiritual  and  the 
outer  world,  and  felt  that  for  one  who  can  understand  them 
these  are  often  not  merely  interesting  and  pretty,  but  fitted  to 
instruct  and  impress, — to  illustrate,  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word — casting  ligJit  for  mind  and  heart  on  what  by  itself  may 
seem  obscure.  He  went  through  the  world  with  his  eyes 
open.  He  was  at  once  reflective  and  imaginative  ;  and  to  a 
soul  of  this  natural  temperament — and  which  by  the  gracious 
work  of  the  Divine  Spirit  had  been  made  sensitive  to  religious 
impressions  —  everything  around  had  something  to  show  of 
God,  and  truth,  and  duty, — something  to  warm  the  heart,  or 
guide  the  laggard,  erring  feet  in  the  ways  of  holiness  and 
peace.  In  some  respects  we  see  in  the  world  very  much  what 
we  look  for.  A  man  who  has  not  thought  seriously  and 
savingly  of  death,  and  sin,  and  Christ,  could  tell  you,  on  return- 
ing from  a  visit  to  some  great  city,  of  the  vast  traffic,  the  mag- 


VERS.  3-6.]        Power  of  the  Tongue.  245 

nificent  buildings,  the  gay  attire  of  the  people  ;  if  an  educated 
and  observant  man,  he  might  be  able  to  speak  also  of  recent 
inventions  and  improvements  in  the  arts  that  he  had  seen  :  but 
ask  him  how  the  work  of  the  Lord  prospered  there,  and  you 
would  find  that  he  had  seen  very  little  casting  light  on  that 
matter.  But  Barnabas,  when  he  was  at  Antioch,  '■saw  the  grace 
of  God,  and  was  glad  :  for  he  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  tjje 
Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith.'  The  last  clause  explains  the  first. 
And  so  it  is  everywhere,  alike  in  the  observation  of  inanimate 
nature  and  of  life.  With  many  there  is  nothing  but  the  mere 
physical  act  of  vision ;  no  learning,  no  growth  of  the  soul  in 
wisdom,  or  energy,  or  happiness.  As  with  the  peasant  of 
whom  Wordsworth  sings, 

'  A  primrose  by  a  river's  brim 
A  yellow  primrose  was  to  him, 
And  it  was  nothing  more  ;' 

SO  with  a  vast  number  of  men  and  women.  The  beauty  of  crea- 
tion tells  them  nothing  of  the  beauty  of  the  character  of  the 
Creator ;  the  grandeur  of  creation  nothing  of  His  glory.  Even 
in  Christians,  partly  from  mental  indolence,  partly  from  spiritual 
carelessness,  the  ear  is  but  too  often  deaf  to  the  rich  harmonies  of 
nature  ;  the  eye  blind  to  the  writing  with  the  finger  of  God  on  His 
creation  and  His  providence, — the  myriad  and  most  valuable 
illustrations  of  truth  and  duty  that  the  eye  unsealed  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  should  see  all  around.  Power  to  discern  the  analogies 
between  the  outward  world  and  the  inner  life  is  given  to  men 
in  very  varied  degrees  ;  yet  something  of  this  poetic  power,  I 
believe,  is  possessed  by  all,  and  true  religion  is  most  of  all 
things  fitted  to  quicken  and  purify  it ;  and  were  our  minds  and 
hearts  more  exercised  in  this  direction,  a  new  interest  would, 
beyond  doubt,  be  given  to  every  department  of  our  lives,  and 
spiritual  strength  and  wisdom  and  joy  would  grow. 

You  remember  how  constantly  the  Lord  Jesus  illustrated  His 
teaching  by  analogies  from  the  material  world  ;  and  you  know 
how  instructive  and  precious  these  illustrations  are  felt  to  be, 
both  by  the  babe  in  Christ  and  by  the  wise  and  experienced 
believer.     The  sheepfold,  the  corn-field,  and  the  vineyard,  the 


246         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

candlestick  in  the  house  and  the  children  playing  in  the 
market-place,  the  sublimest  objects  in  creation  and  the  com- 
monest acts  and  scenes  of  human  life,  were  made  tributary  to 
the  elucidation  and  enforcement  of  spiritual  truth.  And  the 
manner  in  which  the  Lord  and  His  inspired  servants  speak  of 
these  analogies,  and  reason  from  them,  suggests  that  that  is 
but  an  imperfect  view  which  regards  the  images  as,  whilst 
happily  chosen  and  highly  useful,  yet  only  incidentally,  and 
for  the  time,  accommodated  to  this  purpose  of  illustration. 
Are  we  not  rather  to  consider  that  to  serve  for  this  very  use 
of  casting  light  on  spiritual  truth  was  a  definite  purpose, 
perhaps  the  grand  purpose,  of  the  existence  and  the  form  of 
external  nature,  of  the  material  laws  which  man  applies  in  his 
inventions,  of  the  necessities  that  govern  human  life,  individual 
and  social  ?  As  the  earthly  tabernacle  was  made  according  to 
the  pattern  shown  on  the  mount,  so  the  persons  and  things 
and  relations  of  our  outer  world  are  i??iages,  in  the  full  sense  of 
the  word — reflections — of  profound  spiritual  truths, — a  sacred 
writing,  intelligible  only  to  the  eye  that  is  enlightened  by  faith. 
The  relation  of  father  and  son  among  men  was  i?ite?ided  to 
shadow  forth  ineffable  truth  regarding  the  Godhead ;  the 
natural  sun,  to  call  up  before  our  hearts  the  great  spiritual 
Light  of  the  world ;  thorns  and  briars,  to  tell  us  of  sin  ;  the 
birth  and  parental  training  of  children,  to  speak  to  us  of  the 
new  birth  and  God's  Fatherly  discipline.^  The  Christian  eye 
and  mind  and  heart,  therefore,  should  be  far  more  occupied 
than  they  usually  are  in  studying  this  commentary,  if  I  may  so 
phrase  it,  given  us  by  God  Himself  on  His  own  Bible  teaching. 
Our  apostle  evidently  had  much  enjoyment  in  this  study.  He 
loved  to  read  the  writing  of  his  heavenly  Father  on  the  '  wave 

1  Archbishop  Leighton  thus  begins  his  fifteenth  Theological  Lecture  (on 
'Regeneration') : — 'The  Platonists  divide  the  world  into  two,  the  sensible 
and  intellectual  world.  They  imagine  the  one  to  be  the  type  of  the  other, 
and  that  sensible  and  spiritual  things  are  stamped,  as  it  were,  with  the  same 
stamp  or  seal.  These  sentiments  are  not  unlike  the  notions  which  the 
masters  of  the  cabalistical  doctrine  among  the  Jews  held  concerning  God's 
sephiroth  and  seal.  Therewith,  according  to  them,  all  the  worlds,  and  every- 
thing in  them,  are  stamped  and  sealed.     And  these  are  probably  near  akin 


VER.  3-]  Power  of  the  Tongue.  247 

of  the  sea  driven  by  the  wind  and  tossed ' — on  the  '  flower  of 
the  grass  that  passeth  away ' — on  the  mirror  that  reflects  the 
'  natural  face ' — on  the  horse  and  its  bridle,  the  ship  and  its 
helm,  the  fire  and  its  fuel. 

The  illustrations  of  the  horse  and  the  ship  stand  in  immediate 
connection  with  the  statement  made  in  the  close  of  the  second 
verse.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  exhibits  not  merely  an  evidence, 
but  a  means,  a  most  efficient  instrumentality.  To  those  who 
have  not  thought  on  the  subject,  it  may  be  a  startling  statement, 
that  by  the  regulation  of  the  tongue,  such  a  little  member, — 
by  self-restraint  with  regard  to  words,  so  quickly  spoken,  so 
soon  forgotten, — the  whole  body,  its  organs  and  propensities, 
may  be  kept  under  sway ;  '  yet,'  says  the  apostle,  '  if  you  will 
only  look  around,  you  will  see  at  once  a  striking  analogy,  in 
the  way  of  physical  restraint  by  means  of  the  tongue,  to  that 
spiritual  restraint  by  its  means  of  which  I  have  spoken, — an 
analogy  singularly  exact  in  all  its  details.  I  have  said  that  the 
man  who  offends  not  in  word  is  able  to  bridle  the  whole  body. 
This  word  "  bridle,"  if  you  think  of  it,  brings  before  your 
minds  a  strong  and  fleet  horse,  an  animal  naturally  wild  and 
ungovernable,  self-willed  and  capricious,  like  human  nature 
under  the  impulses  of  depraved  lusts  and  passions.  But  man, 
guided  by  his  reason,  obtains  complete  control  over  the  animal, 
so  that  he  can  make  it  follow  his  will  instead  of  its  own, — com- 
pelling the  lower  nature  to  be  submissive  to  the  higher.  Now 
how  does  he  do  this  ?  He  puts  a  bit  in  its  mouth,  he  bridles  its 
tongue,  and  so  controls  the  whole  body.  By  having  command 
of  the  mouth,  he  has  command  of  all.' 

Looking  at  this  illustration  as  an  argument,  it  plainly  does 
not  prove  all  that  the  apostle  has  stated  in  the  previous  verse. 

to  what  Lord  Bacon  of  Venilam  calls  his  parallela  signacula  and  symboli- 
zantes  schematismi.  According  to  this  hypothesis,  those  parables  and  meta- 
phors which  are  often  taken  from  natural  things  to  illustrate  such  as  are 
divine,  will  not  be  similitudes  taken  entirely  at  pleasure,  but  are  often  in  a 
great  measure  founded  in  nature  and  the  things  themselves. ' 

Leighton  does  not  commit  himself  to  acceptance  of  the  view  ;  but  it 
seems  clear,  from  the  way  in  which  this  passage  is  connected  with  the  rest 
of  the  lecture,  that  it  had  at  least  much  interested  and  pleased  him. 


248         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.     [ch.  hi. 

He  does  not  intend  it  to  do  this.  But  it  does  clearly  enough 
show  these  things,  at  least,  that  a  little  instrument  applied  at 
the  right  point  will  often  effect  great  results ;  and  that  man 
signally  evinces  the  power  and  grandeur  of  the  reason  that 
God  has  given  him,  when  he  makes  such  applications.  The 
bearing  which  these  facts  have  on  the  apostle's  counsel  to  be 
careful  in  regard  to  words,  if  we  wish  to  have  universal  holiness, 
is  not  far  to  seek.  And  in  the  analogy  itself  there  is  for  all 
whose  eye  and  ear  are  opened  to  every  form  of  God's  teaching 
something  very  suggestive  ;  the  truth  which  the  apostle  brings 
up,  you  observe,  being  this,  when  stated  in  its  most  general 
form, — that  it  is  by  restraining  the  month,  the  tongue,  that  man 
obtains  and  keeps  control  over  the  animal  nature. 

Another  illustration,  most  graphic  and  complete,  that  man 
often  controls  a  vast  and  most  complicated  machine  by  a  very 
small  instrument  applied  at  the  right  point,  is  drawn  from  the 
steering  of  a  ship.  Even  in  the  apostle's  days  many  of  the 
vessels  trading  in  the  Mediterranean  were  of  what  we  still  call 
considerable  size,  probably  from  five  hundred  to  a  thousand 
tons  burden.^  The  vessel  in  which  Paul  suffered  shipwreck  at 
Malta  carried,  in  crew  and  passengers,  nearly  three  hundred 
persons,  and  Josephus  tells  us  that  six  hundred  were  on  board 
a  ship  in  which  he  sailed.  In  our  day,  when  ships  are  built  of 
a  size  sufficient  for  the  conveyance,  if  need  be,  of  small  armies, 
whatever  argument  the  apostle  founded  on  the  largeness  of  the 
vessels  of  his  time  is  plainly  intensified  many-fold.  In  looking, 
then,  at  one  of  these  great  floating  houses  (or,  as  one  might 
describe  some  ships  of  modern  times,  floating  towns),  and  re- 
membering not  merely  their  unwieldiness  in  themselves,  but 
their  exposure  to  the  furious  tempests  of  ocean,  the  thought 
connected  with  them  most  astounding  and  most  suggestive  is 
that  one  man  (the  ^governor'  of  the  ship,  as  our  older  English 
called  the  steersman)  should,  by  the  movements  of  a  small  in- 

1  Much  interesting  information  regarding  the  ships  of  the  ancients  will  be 
found  in  a  dissertation  on  the  subject  in  the  late  Mr.  Smith  of  Jordanhill's 
admirable  treatise  on  The  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul,  and  in  the 
twenty-third  chapter  of  Conybeare  and  Howson's  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paid. 


VER.  5-]  Power  of  the  Tongue.  249 

strument  at  the  stern,  sway  the  whole,  direct  the  vessel  over 
thousands  of  miles  to  its  intended  port,  and  often  make  even 
seemingly  opposed  winds  and  billows  serviceable  to  its  progress 
in  the  desired  course.  Man's  strength,  even  at  its  fullest 
stretch,  applied  directly  in  any  way,  would  be  utterly  vain ; 
yet  the  man  who  has  control  of  the  helm  which  reason  has 
constructed  governs,  by  the  exertion  of  comparatively  but  little 
strength,  the  whole  of  the  vast  mass.  The  bearing  of  the 
illustration  on  the  apostle's  purpose  is  plainly  this  :  '  Let  no 
one  deem  the  statement  extravagant,  that  he-  who  governs  his 
tongue  will  thereby  regulate  his  whole  body;  for  a  power 
applied  at  the  right  point  is  often  incomparably  more  efficient 
then  a  far  greater  power  brought  into  action  directly  on  the 
whole  mass.' 

Besides  this  general  teaching,  however,  it  seems  to  me, 
taking  both  of  the  apostle's  illustrations  together,  that  he  pro- 
bably had  in  his  mind  the  two  great  causes  of  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  man's  bridling  the  whole  body :  the  power  of  natural 
perversity,  or  what  I  have  already  spoken  of  as  the  animal 
nature  ;  and  the  power  of  temptation,  the  evil  influences  of  the 
world  and  the  world's  prince,  driving  us  hither  and  thither. 
To  the  man  who  governs  the  little  instrument,  the  tongue,  he 
has  ascribed  the  power  of  governing  the  whole  body  ;  and  with 
reference  to  both  classes  of  difficulties  in  the  way  of  doing  this, 
he  exhibits  striking  and  instructive  analogies.  With  the  little 
bit  man  controls  the  horse's  self-will  j  with  the  little  helm  he 
governs  and  directs  the  ship,  "even  amid  the  external  and  often 
most  violent  impulses  'of  fierce  winds.' 

In  the  fifth  verse  we  have  the  formal  application  of  the  illus- 
trations to  the  point  in  hand  :  *  Even  so  the  tongiie  is  a  little 
meinber^ — very  small  in  proportion  to  the  whole  body,  or  even 
when  compared  with  many  other  parts  of  the  body — ^just  as 
the  bit  in  a  horse's  mouth  is  but  a  little  thing  when  compared 
with  the  horse,  and  the  helm  when  compared  with  the  ship — 
*  and  (jet)  boastcth  great  things'  This  is  not  precisely  what  we 
expect.  The  statements  and  illustrations  hitherto  have  had 
reference  to  the  actual  possession  of  power,  not  to  mere  claims 


250         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

or  boasts  regarding  its  possession;  and  therefore  we  look 
rather  for  the  assertion  that  the  tongue,  though  so  small  a 
member,  '  doeth  great  things,'  as  the  bridle  and  the  helm  do  ; 
and  in  particular,  that  the  wise  regulation  of  the  tongue  does 
much  to  secure  wise  control  over  the  whole  man.  This  is  the 
logical  drift  of  the  apostle's  statements  and  illustrations,  and  is 
2.  part  of  what  he  says  here.  The  tongue,  however — being  the 
organ  of  speech — he,  in  accordance  with  his  usual  liveliness  of 
style,  introduces  as  asserting  its  own  power.  Little  as  it  is,  yet 
it^  claims,  truthfully  enough,  to  be  the  accomplisher  of  '■great 
{  things.^  It  can  sway  '  the  fierce  democracy.'  It  can  still  wild 
passions,  excite  high  hopes,  rouse  flagging  energies  to  bright 
activity.  It  can  proclaim  the  gospel  of  Christ,  crying,  '  Ho, 
every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters ; '  and  thus 
bring  rest,  joy,  and  godliness  to  sinful,  sorrowing  hearts. 
All  this  is  true,  and  yet  the  apostle's  spirit  is  sad ;  for  he 
remembers  that  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  the  tongue  is 
ungoverned,  and  exercises  much  of  its  power  not  for  good,  but 
for  evil.  This  is  the  thought  which  is  amphfied  in  the  para- 
graph that  follows,  and  it  finds  some  expression  even  here  in 
the  use  of  the  word  *  boast^  a  term  naturally  suggestive  of 
extravagance  and  vainglory.  The  apostle's  idea  in  his  words 
here,  therefore,  fully  developed, -appears  to  be  something  like 
this :  '  Like  the  bridle  and  the  helm,  the  tongue,  though  so 
small,  wields  great  power,  which  might  be,  and  under  the  firm 
government  of  a  Christian  spirit  is,  productive  of  great  good  ; 
but,  alas,  as  a  rule  this  little  member  is  braggart  and  wicked, 
and  thus  its  power  is  exerted  for  evil.' 

The  previous  examples  have  not  merely  shown  in  a  general 
way  the  power  of  little  things,  but  specially  how,  when  wisely 
applied  and  controlled,  a  Httle  thing  may  be  made  to  work  to 
worthy  and  admirable  ends  ;  herein  suggesting  to  the  apostle's 
readers  the  importance  of  cultivating  the  government  of  the 
tongue,  with  a  view  to  '  bridling  the  whole  body.'  But  already 
in  '  boasteth,'  as  we  have  seen,  has  appeared  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  sad  truth,  that  the  tongue  is  in  the  vast  majority 
of  cases  undisciplined,  and   thus  works  harm.      Hence  the 


VER.  5-]  Power  of  the  Tongue.  251 

apostle  proceeds  to  illustrate  the  measure  of  evil  that  a  little 
thing  uncontrolled  may  effect.  Nothing  is  smaller  than  a 
spark;  yet,  '  behold,  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth  /' 
You  will  observe  that,  the  marginal  reading  for  ^matter'  is 
^wood;'  and  this,  which  is  the  proper  and  usual  meaning  of 
the  original  word,  is  greatly  more  in  accordance  with  the  pic- 
turesque style  of  this  Epistle,  and  of  this  passage  in  particular, 
than  the  vague  general  term  'matter,'  or  'mass  of  materials.'^ 
The  picture  is  one  which  had  no  doubt  been  seen  again  and 
again,  both  by  James  and  his  readers.  Joel,  speaking  of  a 
time  of  sore  drought,  says,  '  O  Lord,  to  Thee  will  I  cry :  for 
the  fire  hath  devoured  the  pastures  of  the  wilderness,  and  the 
flame  hath  burned  all  the  trees  of  the  field.  The  beasts  of  the 
field  cry  also  unto  Thee :  for  the  rivers  of  waters  are  dried  up, 
and  the  fire  hath  devoured  the  pastures  of  the  wilderness.' 
Indeed,  the  picture  was  a  familiar  one  in  the  poetry  of  the 
ancients  generally,  as  an  image  of  rapidity  and  destructiveness. 
Homer,  for  example,  speaks  of  enemies  falling  below  the  blow 
of  one  of  his  heroes  : 

*  As  when  the  winds  with  raging  flames  conspire, 
And  o'er  the  forests  roll  the  flood  of  fire, 
I  In  blazing  heaps  the  grove's  old  honours  fall, 

And  one  refulgent  ruin  levels  all.' 

Iliad,  Pope's  transl.  xi.  201-204. 

In  the  prairie  region  of  America,  sudden  fires  of  this  kind  are 
among  the  most  serious  dangers  to  which  travellers  are  ex- 
posed. A  spark  from  the  camp  fire  of  some  careless  hunter 
falls  among  the  long  parched  grass  near,  which  in  a  moment 
bursts  into  a  blaze  ;  and  the  flame  spreads  with  appalling 
rapidity,  carrying  desolation  and  terror  perhaps  for  fifty  or  a 
hundred  miles,  till  it  comes  to  places  where  it  finds  no  fuel, 
and  dies  of  exhaustion.  Occasionally,  in  our  own  country,  in 
summers  of  extreme  and  long-continued  heat,  we  read  in  the 

'  The  primitive  meaning  of  the  word  '  matter  '  also,  as  of  its  Greek  repre- 
sentative, is  'wood.'  The  beautiful  island  of  Madeira  received  its  name 
(the  Portuguese  foiTn  of  our  '  matter ')  from  the  fact  that,  when  first  dis- 
covered, its  hills  were  clothed  to  their  summits  with  noble  timber. 


252         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  Jmnes.    [ch.  hi. 

newspapers  of  fires  raging  for  days  in  woods — fires  kindled  by 
a  mere  spark  from  some  passing  locomotive  on  a  railway,  or 
in  some  other  way  equally  casual. 

*  Behold,   then,'   says   the   apostle,  *  how  great   a   forest   a 
little  fire   kindleth  :   and  the  tongue  is  a  fire.'     His  reference 
is  obviously  not  to  the  tongue  as  it  might  be,  but  as  it  is — 
in  all  men  by  nature,  and  to  a  lamentable   extent  even   in 
many   who   are    Christians — ungoverned,    abused.     '  An   un- 
godly man,'  says   the   Book   of  Proverbs,   '  diggeth  up  evil ; 
and  in  his  lips  there  is  a  burning  fire.'     The  chief  points  of 
analogy  are  obviously  destnidiveness  and  rapidity  of  diffusive- 
ness.    Fire  is  often  spoken  of  by  our  newspaper  writers  as  the 
*  devouring  element ;'  and  though  the  expression  is  so  hack- 
neyed as  to  have  in  great  measure  lost  its  force,  yet  it  is  in 
itself  most  truthful  and  expressive.     Water,  when  it  bursts  its 
bounds,  carries  ruin,  and  fear,  and  sorrow  along  its  course  ;  but 
terrible  as  are  its  outbreaks,  still  the  far  more  frequent  and 
extensive  devastation  wrought  by  fire  makes  fire  always  rise  up 
first  in  our  minds  when  we  think  of  destructive  agencies  ;  and 
for  it,  as  we  know,  is  reserved  the  final  destruction   of  our 
world  :  in  the  *  day  of  God '  '  the  heavens,  being  on  fire,  shall 
be  dissolved,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat.' 
And  to  the  creatures  that  God  has  made  capable  of  feeling 
pain,  perhaps  no  pain  is  more  excruciating  than  that  caused 
by  fire.     No  more  terrible  torture  has  been  devised  for  poor 
humanity  by  the  keenest  ingenuity  of  malevolence  than  that 
of  the  stake  and  faggots.     In  this  element,  then,  brethren,  so 
destructive  and  so  potent  to  cause  agony,  see  an  image  of  the 
power  of  the  tongue  to  produce  ruin  and  wretchedness.     Cha- 
racter, peace,  health^property, — what  cannot  a  false,  calumnious, 
impiifeTmrgue  destroy  ?— what  does  it  not  destroy  every  day, 
as  our  own  observation  tells  us,  if  we  only  look  and  think  ? 
All  this  is  done  by  a  little  word,  as  from  a  spark  may  come  the 
conflagration  that  levels  the  noble  forest.     Again,  the  rapidity 
with  which  fire  often  spreads  over  a  vast  area  plainly  consti- 
tutes one  of  the  points  of  similarity  to  which  the  apostle  wishes 
to  call  attention.    In  the  drought  of  an  Eastern  summer,  a  flame 


VER.  6.]  Power  of  the  Tongue.  253 

seems  scarcely  to  have  begun  its  destructive  work  on  one  side 
of  a  field,  before  it  appears  careering  exultingly  near  the  other. 
So  with  words.  How  fast  and  how  far  does  calumny  travel ! 
Wise  old  Homer's  standing  epithet  for  'words'  is  'winged.' 
Like  the  birds  of  the  air,  they  are  fleet  and  wide  of  range.  Or 
like  the  multitudes  of  little  seeds  which  we  see  every  autumn 
floating  past  on  the  breeze,  each  balanced  on  its  own  tiny 
wing,  our  words  go  far  and  wide,  each  the  germ  for  some  soul 
of  a  plant  of  utility  and  beauty,  or  of  a  useless  and  poisonous 
weed.  And,  impelled  by  the  influences  of  a  wicked  world,  our 
wicked  words  generally  go  fastest  and  farthest. 

The  principal  causes  of  destructive  fires,  too,  are  the  prin- 
cipal causes  of  the  tongue's  evil  work.  Sometimes  the  cause 
is  definite,  conscious  malignity.  A  man  hates  his  neighbour, 
and  sets  fire  to  his  house  or  his  stack-yard, — or  he  scorches 
his  reputation  by  scattering  lies.  Now  and  again  desire  of 
sport  is  at  the  root  of  the  matter.  The  Romans  believed 
that  Nero  set  the  city  on  fire,  that  he  might  enjoy  the  sight 
of  the  blaze.  So,  according  to  the  inspired  proverb,  'it  is 
sport  to  a  fool  to  do  mischief;'  and,  in  particular,  'as  a  mad- 
man who  casteth  firebrands,  arrows,  and  death,  so  is  the  man 
that  deceiveth  his  neighbour,  and  saith,  Am  not  I  in  sport?' 
But  by  far  the  commonest  cause  of  destructive  fires,  as  you 
know,  is  simple  ivant  of  care  and  thought.  So,  too,  with  the 
tongue.  A  vast  amount  of  the  injury  which  it  does  is  caused 
by  words  spoken  in  sheer  heedlessness,  without  anything  like 
definite,  conscious  ill-intent, — words  spoken,  it  may  be,  merely 
to  fill  up  a  gap  in  conversation,  or  to  give  to  conversation 
a  little  more  sprightliness  and  piquancy.  'The  tongue  is  a 
fire ;'  and,  brethren,  just  as  the  man  who,  from  malignity,  or 
desire  of  sport,  or  simple  want  of  thought,  has  kindled  a  con- 
flagration, possesses  often  little  or  no  power  to  stop  its  ravages, 
however  anxious  he  then  may  be  to  do  so, — nay,  as  its  fury  may 
soon  become  resistless  by  any  human  agency, — so  with  the  fires 
that  words  light  up.  This  is  the  most  solemn  thought  connected 
with  the  exercise  of  God's  great  gift  of  speech, — that  words  once 
spoken  are  irrevocable.     We  can  thereafter,  in  most  cases,  do 


254         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

but  little  to  alter  their  tendency  or  check  their  power.  They 
have  sprung  into  the  world  as  influences  for  good  or  evil,  and 
we  may  hear  their  echo  from  many  sides  at  the  great  Judgment. 

Leaving  this  figure  for  a  little,  the  apostle  proceeds  to  de- 
scribe the  tongue  as  *  a  world  of  iniquity^  or,  more  exactly, 
*  the  world  (that  is,  as  I  think  the  article  may  here  be  correctly 
paraphrased,  "  that  notorious  world  ")  of  iniquity.'  This  is  a 
very  strong  and  startling  expression,  well  fitted  to  arrest  the 
attention  of  the  inconsiderate,  and  lead  them  to  think  some- 
what of  the  power  of  sins  of  the  tongue,  which  by  many  are 
looked  upon  so  lightly.  The  notion  of  vasi?iess  is  obviously 
intended  to  be  suggested  by  '  world.'  In  the  ordinary  use  of 
the  tongue  there  is  an  enormous  mass  of  moral  evil.  Besides 
this  general  notion  of  vastness,  however,  the  name  'world,' 
under  which  we  comprehend  in  thought  earth,  and  sea,  and 
sky,  and  all  things  that  exist  in  these,  brings  in  also  this  idea, 
that  all-kiftds-oi_\m<\^^^y  are  to  be  found  gathered  up  in  the 
work  of  an  ungoverned  tongue.  Of  some  sins  it  is  the  pecu- 
liar instrument ;  and  of  all  sins  it  may  be,  and  in  a  very  large 
number  of  instances  is,  the  minister,  fosterer,  fanner,  propa- 
gator. The  apostle's  language  here,  then,  has  a  somewhat 
similar  force  to  that  of  Paul,  when  he  calls  the  love  of  money 
'the  root  of  all  evil ;'  not  thereby  intimating  that  all  sin  has  as 
a  matter  of  fact  sprung  from  covetousness,  but  that  that  vice 
is  of  such  a  nature  as  readily  to  lead  to  the  breach  of  any  of 
God's  commandments,  and  that  an  inconceivable  number  of 
all  classes  of  sins  do  actually  spring  from  it.  So  with  the 
tongue.  By  it  the  blasphemer  defies  God,  the  liar  utters  his 
falsehoods,  the  seducer  pours  forth  his  destroying  flatteries, 
the  slanderer  blasts  his  neighbour's  good  name,  the  traitor 
spreads  sedition  and  disturbs  the  peace  of  nations.  The 
tongue  'diffuses  error,  kindles  strife,  inflames  the  passions, 
stimulates  to  vice,  originates  crime.  It  breaks  hearts,  em- 
bitters families,  distracts  communities,  divides  and  destroys 
churches.'^ 

But  the  apostle  continues :  '  So  is  the  tongue  among  our 
1  Dr.  Adam's  Exposition  of  James,  p.  234. 


VER.  6.]  Power  of  the  Tongue.  255 

members ' — such  is  the  position  of  evil  influence  which  it  takes 
up — 'fhaf  it  dcfikth  the  whole  body.''  The  mind  of  the  apostle 
here  obviously  reverts  to  what  he  had  said  a  little  before,  and 
illustrated  by  the  analogies  of  the  horse's  bit  and  the  ship's 
helm, — that  the  man  who  rules  his  tongue  can  '  bridle  also 
the  ivhole  body'  The  actual  state  of  things  among  all  men 
by  nature,  and  to  a  sad  degree  even  among  Christians,  shows 
a  deplorable  contrast  with  this  ideal.  The  tongue  has  power 
over  '  the  whole  body ;'  but  it  is  power  for  evil — power  not  for 
purifying  and  ennobling,  but  for  defilement.  The  introduction 
in  the  previous  clause  of  *  world '  shows  that  the  apostle  is 
not  confining  himself  strictly  to  the  image  of  fire ;  yet  from 
the  last  clauses  of  the  verse  it  is  manifest  that  this  is  mainly 
in  his  mind,  and  it  seems  therefore  most  natural  to  suppose 
the  idea  in  '  dcfileth '  to  be  that  of  sullying,  blackening  like 
smoke.  Not  merely  does  the  flame  of  the  tongue's  fire  scorch 
and  consume,  as  has  been  already  suggested,  and  is  fully  ex- 
hibited in  the  next  clause,  but  its  smoke  pollutes  the  whole 
body.  This  is  an  instructive  and  impressive  aspect  of  sin, 
which  the  young  in  particular  would  do  well  to  ponder.  We 
care  much  for  these  perishable  bodies  of  ours — for  their  com- 
fort and  their  adornment  \  and  within  certain  limits  this  is 
needful  and  right :  yet  let  us  ever  bear  in  mind,  that  to  the 
eye  of  God,  and  of  all  in  the  universe  who  see  things  in  the 
light  of  God,  there  is  no  true  beauty,  no  adornment  that  will 
bear  minute  examination,  except  that  of  hohness.  When  the 
bodily  powers  are  instruments  of  sin,  when  the  eyes  range  to 
and  fro  after  vanity,  when  the  mouth  utters  or  the  ear  greedily 
drinks  in  false,  and  impure,  and  uncharitable  words,  when 
the  feet  *  walk  in  the  counsel  of  the  ungodly,'  and  the  hands 
carry  out  that  counsel, — then,  however  great  the  physical  love- 
liness, however  elaborate  and  tasteful  the  outward  adorning,  in 
God's  sight  the  'whole  body'  is  'defiled,'  repulsive,  loathsome. 
'  Now,'  says  our  apostle,  '  the  tongue  has  such  an  influential 
position  among  our  members,  that  by  its  utterances  of  malignity, 
greed,  uncleanness,  it  excites  the  lusts  which  act  through  all 
the  various  bodily  organs,  and  thus  brings  universal  pollution.' 


256         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

This  is  a  statement  confirmed  by  the  experience  and  observa- 
tion of  us  all. 

The  tongue,  moreover,  '  setteth  on  fire  the  course  of  nature.'' 
It  is  not  easy  to  define  the  exact  significance  of  this  expres- 
sion. As  it  stands,  it  appears  to  mean, — '  sets  the  world,  or  the 
[whole  creation,  in  flames,'  To  this  these  objections  present 
themselves, — that  such  a  strong  hyperbolical  statement  is  hardly 
consistent  with  our  apostle's  style,  either  in  the  context  or  else- 
where ;  and  especially,  that  as  this  clause,  like  that  immediately 
preceding,  appears  to  stand  in  close  connection  with  ^  so  is 
the  tongue  {such  is  its  influential  position)  among  our  members,^ 
we  expect  a  reference  to  its  power  for  evil,  not  on  the  world 
generally,  but  on  the  character  or  immediate  relations  of  the 
individual  to  whom  the  ungoverned  tongue  belongs.  There 
has  been  much  debate  among  interpreters  as  to  what  exactly 
the  apostle  means  here.  It  seems  to  me  that  ^setteth  on 
fire  the  revolving  circle  of  one's  ?iature^  which  is  perhaps  as 
literal  a  translation  of  the  original  words  as  could  well  be 
given,  conveys  a  satisfactory  sense.  Having  in  the  previous 
clause  spoken  of  the  tongue's  defiling  power  on  the  whole 
man,  looked  at  strictly  by  himself,  he  proceeds  here,  I  appre- 
hend, to  its  injurious  power  on  him  as  a  member  of  society ; 
exactly  according  to  the  order  followed  in  the  seventeenth 
verse,  in  describing  the  characteristics  of  heavenly  wisdom. 
The  life  of  each  of  us  in  the  world  may  be  conceived  as  a 
'  circle '  of  influences  of  various  kinds,  acting  on  the  persons 
and  institutions  around  us, — a  circle  which  is  in  ceaseless  re- 
volution, seeing  that  every  moment  of  our  social  life  brings 
in  some  new  element.  All  these  influences,  then,  the  apostle 
says,  are  fired,  inflamed,  by  the  action  of  the  tongue;  and, 
by  immediate  inference,  the  persons  also  with  whom,  as  the 
circle  revolves,  the  influences  come  into  contact,  are  fired  or 
inflamed  by  it,  with  anger,  licentiousness,  covetousness, 
malice,  or  any  other  passion,  according  to  circumstances. 
Something  like  this,  I  think,  is  the  meaning  of  this  rather 
obscure  statement;  and  thus  understood,  the  truthfulness  and 
the  force  of  the  picture  are  alike  manifest. 


VER.  6.]  Power  of  the  Tongue.  257 

There  remains  yet  one  solemn  and  awful  fact  on  the  subject 
to  be  brought  forward.  '  The  tongue  lights  a  devastating  fire 
all  around,'  the  apostle  has  said, — '  and  it  is  set  on  fire  of  hell.' 
The  figure  is  bold  and  striking,  and  the  truth  which  it  exhibits 
is  a  very  awful  one.  When  the  prophet  cried,  '  Woe  is  me,  for 
I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,'  one  of  the  seraphim  touched 
those  lips  with  a  live  coal  from  God's  altar.  Jesus  came  into 
the  world,  as  He  tells  us,  '  to  send  fire  on  the  earth,'  the  blessed 
fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  enlighten  the  understanding,  warm 
the  heart,  and  consume  sin ;  and  at  Pentecost  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit  was  manifested  visibly  in  the  resting  on  the  apostles 
of  tongues  of  fire.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  probably  both 
Isaiah's  vision,  and  especially  that  wondrous  scene  at  Pente- 
cost, which  must  have  printed  itself  so  deeply  on  the  memories 
of  all  who  were  privileged  to  witness  it,  were  present  to  the 
apostle's  mind  when  he  wrote  the  words  now  under  considera- 
tion. There  was  fire  from  heaven  for  lips  and  tongue  :  the  fire 
which  the  tongue  has  by  nature  is  kindled  from  hell.  The  evil 
of  the  tongue,  like  all  sin,  came  from  Satan's  temptation  of  the 
founders  of  our  race ;  and  from  him  it  is  ever  receiving  fresh 
strength,  as  James's  words  intimate, — for  his  statement  is  not 
merely  that  the  tongue  '  was,'  but  that  it  '  is  habitually  set  on 
fire  of  hell.'  You  cannot  but  feel,  brethren,  that  this  repre- 
sentation is  singularly  impressive.  How  appalling  the  thought 
should  be  to  the  careless  talker,  the  man  of  unchastened  lips, 
that  his  words  are  really  Satan's,  for  which  yet  he  himself  is 
responsible  \  that  his  utterances  are  doing  on  himself  and 
those  around  him  the  devil's  work ;  that,  when  he  pours  forth 
from  his  lips  profane,  or  impure,  or  unkind  language,  he  is, 
in  truth,  breathing  out  flames  lighted  from  the  bottomless  pit ! 


258         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 


XVII. 
THE  TONGUE  UNTAMEABLE  AND  INCONSISTENT. 

'  For  every  kind  of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  and  of  serpents,  and  of  things  in 
the  sea,  is  tamed,  and  hath  been  tamed  of  mankind  :  8  But  the  tongue 
can  no  man  tame ;  it  is  an  unruly  evil,  full  of  deadly  poison.  9  There- 
with bless  we  God,  even  the  Father;  and  therewith  curse  we  men, 
which  are  made  after  the  similitude  of  God.  10  Out  of  the  same  mouth 
proceedeth  blessing  and  cursing.  My  brethren,  these  things  ought  not 
so  to  be.  1 1  Doth  a  fountain  send  forth  at  the  same  place  sweet  water 
and  bitter?  12  Can  the  fig-tree,  my  brethren,  bear  olive  berries  ? 
either  a  vine,  figs  ?  so  can  no  fountain  both  yield  salt  water  and  fresh, ' 
— ^James  III.  7-12. 

THIS  passage  exhibits  the  tintameableness  of  the  tongue, 
and  its  grievous  inconsistencies.  By  the  introductory 
''  for^  the  paragraph  is  set  before  us  as  presenting  the  ground 
of  the  previous  statements.  The  apostle  has  been  dwelling, 
as  we  have  seen,  on  the  intensity  and  wide  diffusion  of  the  evil 
wrought  by  the  tongue,  piling  up  figure  on  figure  to  illustrate 
the  terrible  power  of  this  little  organ;  employing  language, 
indeed,  which  to  a  person  who  has  not  thought  carefully  on 
the  working  of  words  would  seem  almost  extravagant.  Here 
he  proceeds  to  point  out  evidence.  He  has  been  speaking 
with  particular  fulness  of  the  devouring  and  often  resistless 
energy  of  the  tongue,  under  the  figure  of  fire;  and  now  he  sup- 
ports this,  saying  in  substance,  that  if  we  only  look  abroad  we 
shall  see  that  this  organ  is  indeed  utterly  wild  and  untameable. 
The  statement  of  the  seventh  verse  simply  leads  on  to  that 
of  the  eighth,  and  strengthens  it.  The  greater  the  power  and 
skill  of  man  to  tame  are  seen  to  be,  the  more,  obviously,  the 
energy  and  wildness  of  the  tongue  are  exhibited,  seeing  that 


VER.  7.]  The  Tongue  Untameable.  259 

it  defies  all  that  power  and  skill.  The  apostle,  as  you  see, 
by  his  amplification  of  the  preliminary  statement,  so  floods  the 
background  of  his  picture  with  light,  that  no  one  can  fail  to 
see  the  untameableness  of  the  tongue  standing  out  against  it 
with  startling  impressiveness.  The  general  idea  is,  '  Man  can 
tame  all  the  inferior  races  of  creatures ;'  but  you  observe  how 
each  part  of  the  statement  is  expanded  :  '  Every  kind  of  beasts, 
and  of  birds,  and  of  serpents,  and  of  things  in  the  sea,  is  tamed, 
and  hath  been  tamed  of  mankind.'  Where  we  have  *^/r^i-' and 
'■serpents'  here,  the  original  has  the  more  comprehensive  terms 
'flying  creatures'  and  'creeping  things,' — the  one  including 
winged  insects  as  well  as  birds,  and  the  other  all  classes  of 
reptiles.  The  classification,  which  is  evidently  for  practical 
purposes  complete,  is  the  same  as  that  given  in  the  ninth 
chapter  of  Genesis,  where  the  grant  of  power  over  the  crea- 
tures is  renewed  to  Noah,  the  second  father  of  our  race.  The 
margin  of  our  version  shows  'nature'  as  the  strict  meaning  of 
the  word  rendered  '  kind'  in  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  verse  ; 
and  we  have  here  presented,  in  truth,  a  somewhat  different  and 
deeper  thought  than  merely  that  of  '  race.'  '  Every  nature,' 
says  the  apostle,  '  every  special  temperament  and  instinct 
throughout  the  animal  creation,  can  be  subdued  by  the  peculiar 
nature  of  man — his  constitutional  superiority  through  reason.' 
This  happens  now,  and  is  a  fact  of  daily  observation, —  '  every 
animal  nature  is  tamed;'  '  and  hath  been  tamed:'  all  do^vn  the 
ages,  from  the  grant  of  dominion  to  Adam  and  the  renewal  to 
Noah,  this  power  of  man  has  been  proved.  The  thought 
underlying  this  last  expression,  and  intended  to  come  out  into 
the  reader's  full  consciousness  when  he  considers  the  assertion 
made  in  the  next  verse,  is  plainly  this :  '  During  all  these  gene- 
rations, as  now,  the  power  of  man  over  all  the  lower  creatures 
has  been  clearly  shown ;  yet  at  what  point  in  all  these  ages 
could  you  find  any  man  able  to  tame  the  tongue?'  Of  course 
the  apostle  does  not  intend  to  say  that  actually  representatives 
of  each  of  the  almost  innumerable  species  of  living  creatures 
have  been  tamed  by  man,  neither  does  the  force  of  his  illustra- 
tion at  all  require  any  such  extreme  supposition.    All  he  means 


26o         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.    [ch.  hi. 

to  say  is,  that  ample  evidence  of  this  power  over  all  classes  of 
creatures  is  afforded  by  observation  and  history.  The  lion  and 
the  elephant  have  been  taught  to  draw  man's  chariot,  the  hawk 
to  hunt  for  him  in  the  air,  the  fishes  to  come  near  him  with 
trustfulness  for  their  food,  the  serpent  to  submit  to  the  charmer, 
and  even  the  savage  crocodile  ('the  leviathan'  of  Job,  who  'is 
made  without  fear,  and  is  a  king  over  all  the  children  of  pride ') 
has  been  made  by  obedience  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of 
man.  Such  cases  as  these  supply  the  fullest  proof  that  nothing 
of  this  kind  is  to  be  counted  beyond  the  power  of  human  skill 
and  patience,  firmness  and  gentleness. 

'■But  the  to7igue  can  no  man  tame.^  The  tongue  became  a 
wild  creature  at  the  same  time  as  lions  and  tigers.  In  para- 
dise it  and  they  were  lovingly  obedient  to  man  ;  but  when  sin 
came,  it  and  they  revolted.  The  grant  of  superiority  to  the 
creatures  was  renewed,  under  an  altered  form — the  dominion 
of  fear,  not  of  love.  *  The  fear  cf  you,  and  the  dread  of  yon  ^  said 
God  to  Noah  and  his  sons,  '  shall  be  upon  every  beast  of  the 
earth,  and  upon  every  fowl  of  the  air,  upon  all  that  moveth 
upon  the  earth,  and  upon  all  the  fishes  of  the  sea :  into  your 
hand,  are  they  delivered.'  This  did  not  extend  to  the  tongue. 
Vast  as  the  taming  powers  of  man  are,  and  have  ever  been 
proved  to  be,  all  experience  shows  that  this  wild  creature  '  no 
ma?i  can  tame.''  The  statement,  you  observe,  is  put  in  the 
most  general  way :  '  No  man  has  skill  or  strength  to  'tame 
either  his  neighbour's  tongue  or  his  own.'  I  need  scarcely 
remark  that,  so  far  as  regards  each  man's  own  use  of  the 
glorious  gift  of  speech,  this  inability  is  purely  moral,  due 
simply  to  a  weakness  of  will.  Were  there  as  real,  clear, 
decided  a  desire  to  tame  the  tongue  as  there  is  on  the  part 
of  any  man  who  undertakes  the  taming  of  one  of  the  animals 
to  succeed  in  the  enterprise,  there  would  be  success  here  as 
well  as  there  ;  but  the  will  is  weakened  and  perverted  through 
depravity.  'Joseph's  brethren,'  the  sacred  historian  tells  us, 
'hated  him,  and  could  not  speak  peaceably  to  him.'  That 
'  could  not '  may  fairly  stand  as  a  representative  of  all  cases 
of  the  tongue's  untameableness  j  and  thus  the  apostle's  teach- 


VER.  8.]  The  Tongue  Untameable.  261 

ing  here,  like  all  teaching  everywhere  in  the  Bible  on  man's 
moral  condition,  leads  us  up  directly  to  our  dependence  on 
God.  'No  man  can  tame  the  tongue:'  'With  man  this  is 
impossible ;  but  with  God  all  things  are  possible.'  Let  the 
unconverted  man,  then,  who  has  found  resolution  after  reso- 
lution to  bridle  his  tongue  fail  utterly,  see  in  this  failure  '  a 
schoolmaster  to  bring  him  to  Christ,'  that  in  Him  he  may 
receive  strength  from  above.  And  let  the  Christian  remember 
that  in  nothing  is  the  natural  wildness  of  the  flesh  more  apt  to 
show  itself  than  in  the  use  of  speech,  and  be  especially  earnest 
in  layijig  hold,  by  the  prayer  of  faith,  on  the  strength  of  God 
for  dominion  over  the  tongue.  In  the  statement  made  in  this 
verse,  you  will  see,  is  presented  fully  the  basis  of  that  made  in 
the  second  verse  of  the  chapter,  and  with  which,  from  the 
similarity  or  indeed  identity  of  the  figure  employed,  it  seems 
to  have  been  immediately  connected  in  the  apostle's  mind  : 
'  If  any  man  offend  not  in  word,  the  same  is  a  perfect  man, 
and  able  also  to  bridle  the  whole  body.' 

The  apostle,  continuing  his  sketch  of  the  tongue's  charac- 
teristics, says  that  '  //  is  an  unruly  eviV — an  unrestrainable,  un- 
governable instrument  of  wickedness.  This  is  simply  a  forcible 
summing  up  of  the  previous  statement.  Modern  editors  of  the 
Greek  Testament,  however,  following  the  authority  of  the  oldest 
and  best  manuscripts,  have  substituted  in  the  text,  for  the  word 
rendered  '  unruly,'  another,  differing  from  it  only  by  two  letters, 
and  which  thus  might  easily  be  mistaken  by  transcribers.  The 
approved  reading  means  '  restless,'  '  continually  changing,' — the 
same  epithet  that  in  the  first  chapter  is  applied  to  the  '  double- 
minded  man,'  and  there  rendered  '  unstable.'  This  gives  a 
new,  interesting,  important  thought ;  a  thought  which  presents 
one  reason  for  the  untameableness  of  the  tongue  just  spoken 
of,  and  at  the  same  time  leads  the  way  into  the  statements 
which  follow  regarding  its  inconsistencies.  The  tongue,  says 
the  apostle,  is  '^  restless  evil:^  it  flits  constantly  from  one  sub- 
ject to  another,  from  one  sphere  of  wrong-doing  to  another ; 
from  slander  it  glides  into  impurity,  from  impurity  into  arro- 
gance, from  arrogance  into  frivolity,  from  frivolity  into  anger : 


262         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

so  that,  when  a  man  is  trying  to  tame  it  in  one  sphere,  it 
suddenly  escapes  him,  and  exuhs  in  its  wild  freedom  in  another. 

But  yet  further,  the  tongue  is  '/////  of  deadly  poison.'  It  is 
like  a  serpent  highly  charged  with  venom,  and  from  which  no 
one  can  extract  the  fangs.  As  David  has  it,  '  Evil  men  have 
sharpened  their  tongues  like  a  serpent ;  adders'  poison  is  under 
their  lips.'  And  this  poison  of  error,  and  profanity,  and  calumny, 
and  unclean  language,  is  '  deadly  poison.'  Slowly  it  may  be, 
but  surely,  it  kills  reputation,  or  peace,  or  hope  for  eternity. 
It  was  the  poison  of  the  old  serpent's  words  to  Eve,  '  Ye  shall 
not  surely  die,'  that  made  her  and  all  of  us  die  in  trespasses 
and  sins ;  and  like  Satan's  tongue  are  in  a  degree  the  tongues 
of  all  his  children.  Standing  as  these  words  of  the  apostle 
do  between  the  description  of  the  tongue  as  a  *  restless  evil,' 
and  his  detailed  illustration  of  its  inconsistencies,  it  seems  to 
me  probable  that  its  restlessness  especially  in  the  form  of  in- 
consistency on  the  part  of  professing  Christians,  was  prominent 
in  his  mind  when  he  wrote  them, — and  that  thus  the  special  idea 
which  we  are  to  attach  to  them  is  that  the  careless,  wicked 
language  often  heard  from  the  lips  of  those  who  have  named 
the  name  of  Christ,  is  perhaps  above  all  other  language  '  full 
of  deadly  poison.' 

This  remark  brings  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  iiicon- 
sistencies  of  the  tongue,  of  which  James  speaks  in  the  next 
four  verses.  Inconsistency  is  not  by  any  means  necessarily  a 
bad  thing.  We  not  unfrequently  hear  public  men  condemned 
simply  on  this  ground ;  whereas  the  tmth  is,  that  inconsistency 
is  often  most  beautiful  and  honourable.  Not  to  speak  of  the 
fundamental  opposition  between  earlier  and  later  utterances  on 
religious  subjects, — which  may  prove  that  the  great  vital  change 
of  thought  and  feeling  has  come  between, — the  man  who  on 
any  question  of  importance  and  difficulty  does  not  hold,  and 
if  need  be  express,  at  forty  years  of  age  opinions  somewhat,  it 
may  be  considerably,  different  from  those  he  entertained  at 
twenty,  can  scarcely  have  thought  much  regarding  them,  or 
allowed  the  light  of  experience  to  illuminate  his  mind.  Or,  to 
take  a  case  more  nearly  analogous  to  that  before  us, — often  when 


VER.  9.]  The  Tongue  Inconsistent.  263 

a  man's  soul  is  deeply  stirred,  and  conflicting  emotions  are 
struggling  within  him,  most  obvious  inconsistency,  even  in  the 
same  conversation,  is  felt  by  candid  hearers  to  be  at  the  least 
pardonable,  because  it  is  so  natural.  But  the  inconsistency  of 
which  our  apostle  speaks  in  this  paragraph, — to  'bless  God, 
and  with  the  same  tongue  to  curse  men,  which  are  made  after 
the  similitude  of  God,' — this  is  in  the  very  highest  degree  sin- 
ful and  injurious.  To  '■bless  God^ — to  praise  Him  with  thank- 
fulness and  love — to  pronounce  Him  ineffably  blessed  in  the 
possession  and  exercise  of  His  own  perfections, — this  is  the 
noblest  use  of  speech,  as  it  is  the  loftiest  act  of  the  soul.  To 
'  bless  the  Lord,  who  forgiveth  all  our  iniquities,  who  healeth 
all  our  diseases,  who  redeemeth  our  lives  from  destruction,  who 
crowneth  us  with  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercies,  who 
satisfieth  our  mouths  with  good  things,' — to  sing,  '  O  Lord,  I  will 
praise  Thee  ;  behold,  God  is  my  salvation  :  I  will  trust,  and  not 
be  afraid  ;  for  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  my  strength  and  my  song,' 
— for  this  use,  above  all  others,  the  tongue  was  given  us. 

'  Therewith,'  says  the  apostle,  '  bless  we  God,  even  the  Father,' 
or  rather,  '  our  God  and  Father.'  This  is  the  peculiarly  close 
and  endearing  relation  in  which  the  believer  delights  to  think 
of  God,  and  to  address  Him — as  our  reconciled  Father  in  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  only  those  who  thus  know  Him  as  their  Father 
can  truly,  lovingly,  and  gratefully  '  bless '  Him.  Its  mention 
here  is  peculiarly  appropriate.  The  designations  of  God  in 
Scripture  are  never  selected  at  random,  as,  I  am  afraid,  they 
often  are  in  our  prayers  and  other  religious  utterances.  The 
study  of  the  connection  in  which  they  stand  will  always  dis- 
cover a  delicate  beauty  in  them,  or  a  special  argumentative 
force.  That  before  us  has  occurred  already  in  this  Epistle, 
in  the  last  verse  of  the  first  chapter,  where  the  apostle  speaks 
of  '  true  and  undefiled  religious  service  before  our  God  and 
Father'  being  '  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  afflic- 
tion.' There  the  name  most  manifestly  involves  an  enforce- 
ment of  the  duty  enjoined,  irresistibly  cogent  to  the  Christian's 
heart,  seeing  that  he  is  called  on  to  care  for  those  destitute 
ones  who,  as  children  of  the  common   Father,   are   his   own 


264         Lecttires  on  the  Epistle  of  James .    [ch.  iii. 

brothers  and  sisters.  In  the  present  place  the  same  thought 
of  God's  common  Fatherhood  is  that  which  we  are  to  carry 
with  us  into  the  consideration  of  the  latter  part  of  the  verse, 
where  it  casts  a  broad  and  strong  light  on  the  wickedness  of 
the  inconsistency  described. 

*  With  the  tongue,'  says  the  apostle,  *  we  bless  our  God  and 
Father,  and  with  the  tongue  we  airse  vieii^  To  '■curse''  is 
strictly  to  imprecate  evil  on  a  person — to  pray  for  injury  or 
destruction  to  come  upon  him.  Language  of  this  kind  has 
always  been  sadly  common  in  the  East ;  and  very  probably 
even  professing  Christians,  of  whom  plainly  James  is  here 
speaking,  might  at  times,  under  the  influence  of  depravity  and 
their  surroundings,  fall  into  the  practice.  Peter,  in  the  high 
priest's  palace,  'began  to  curse  and  to  swear,'  the  evangelists 
tell  us.  On  our  own  streets,  alas,  my  brethren,  the  swearer's 
awful  prayer  is  lamentably  familiar  to  our  ears, — the  words  in 
which,  if  they  have  any  meaning,  he  prays  for  everlasting 
destruction  on  himself  or  his  neighbour;  and  there  may  be,  I 
know  not,  even  professing  Christians  who  use  language  of  this 
kind.  As  James  employs  the  word  here,  however,  it  obviously 
includes  much  more  than  this, — utterances  of  any  sort  which 
show  unkind  feeling  to  our  neighbour — our  neighbour  '  jnade 
after  the  similitude  of  God.'  *  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  Our 
image,  after  Our  likeness.  So  God  created  man  in  His  own 
image,' — with  the  sublime  dignity  of  a  moral  nature,  a  mind 
and  heart  that  could  apprehend  and  love  truth  and  holiness. 
This  image  has  not  been  wholly  lost.  Though  sadly  blurred 
by  the  fall,  yet  in  reason  and  conscience  all  men  still  show 
God's  likeness.  This  fact  was  made  prominent,  you  remember, 
in  one  of  the  laws  given  to  Noah,  as  summing  up  man's  dignity 
and  value :  '  Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his 
blood  be  shed  ;  for  in  the  image  of  God  made  He  man'  The 
same  argument  is  employed  here.  How  utterly  monstrous  it 
is  to  '  bless  our  God  and  Father,'  and  with  the  very  tongue 
that  does  this  to  'curse'  those  who,  by  bearing  His  image, 
prove  that  they  are  His  children  !  For,  *  as  certain  even  of  the 
heathen  poets  have  said,  We  are  also  His  offspring.'     The 


VER.  lo.]         The  Tongue  Inconsistent.  .  265 

argument  becomes  stronger  yet,  when  we  bear  in  mind  that 
Jesus  was  a  man,  and  by  His  incarnation  Ufted  up  all  the 
members  of  our  race  into  the  position  of  His  *  kinsmen  after  the 
flesh.'  Oh  how  this  fact  should  ennoble  to  our  feelings  uni- 
versal humanity !  All  this,  you  observe,  applies  to  men  with- 
out distinction.  But  the  awfully  wicked  inconsistency  of  the 
conduct  described  is  most  glaring  of  all  when  the  curses  are  im- 
precated on  the  heads  of  those  who  by  faith  are  God's  children 
in  the  covenant,  '  predestinated  to  be  conformed  to  the  image 
of  His  Son.'  No  more  gross  inconsistency  can  be  conceived, 
no  evidence  more  complete  that  the  tongue  is  '  full  of  deadly 
poison,'  than  for  a  man  to  bless  God,  to  praise  the  Father  with 
glowing  words  of  gratitude  and  affection,  and  to  curse,  to  slander, 
or  insult  His  children  in  Christ  Jesus. 

In  the  first  words  of  the  tenth  verse  the  statement  of  incon- 
sistency is  summed  up  in  a  terse  and  pointed  way :  '  Oiit  of 
the  same  mouth  proceedeth  blessing  and  cursing.^  There  are 
people  professing  godliness,  people  who  every  Sabbath-day 
in  the  song  of  praise  lift  up  their  voice  and  bless  God  for  His 
boundless  Fatherly  love,  yet  during  the  week  often  give  way  to 
most  unhallowed  anger  against  their  fellow-men  and  God's  chil- 
dren, or  in  whose  company  you  cannot  be  for  a  few  minutes  with- 
out hearing  some  ill  report  against  a  neighbour,  communicated 
as  venomously  as  the  measure  of  apparent  sympathy  among  the 
auditors  with  the  speaker  permits.  All  of  us  have  met  persons 
of  the  kind,  and  in  every  one  of  us  there  is  somewhat  of  this 
inconsistency — too  much,  far  too  much,  for  in  any  degree  it  is 
altogether  opposed  to  the  will  of  God.  '  My  brethren^  says  the 
apostle,  '  these  things  ought  not  so  to  be.''  It  is  true  that  '  the 
tongue  can  no  man  tame,'  yet  its  untamedness  is  not  the  less 
sin.  Wherever  there  is  humble,  sincere  desire  and  effort  to 
obey  the  will  of  God,  strength  is  given  by  the  Almighty. 
*  Stretch  forth  thine  hand,'  said  Jesus  to  a  man  who  had  his 
hand  withered ;  '  and  he  stretched  it  forth.''  For  a  professed 
child  of  God,  then,  to  mingle  with  his  more  becoming  utter- 
ances the  language  of  the  children  of  the  wicked  one — this  is 
conduct  which  calls  for  the  severest  condemnation.      Bitter 


266         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

words  are  fruit  from  a  '  root  of  bitterness '  in  the  soul.  The 
tongue  of  such  a  professing  Christian  praises  God  for  the  Sun 
of  righteousness,  with  His  glorious  light  and  heat ;  but  his  angry 
denunciations  of  brethren  show  that  his  heart  meanwhile  is 
shutting  itself  up  in  darkness  and  biting  cold.  The  tongue 
'  blesses '  Jesus  as  the  Sower  of  the  good  seed,  and  the  Sender 
of  genial,  quickening  rain  ;  but  the  '  cursing '  of  those  whom 
Jesus  came  to  save  proves  that  the  heart  is  wilfully  remaining 
a  barren  field,  or  a  field  covered  with  thorns  and  all  noxious 
weeds.     '  My  brethren,  these  things  ought  not  so  to  be.' 

In  the  two  verses  which  follow,  the  apostle,  as  is  his  wont, 
directs  our  attention  to  analogies,  for  some  hints  on  the  matter 
in  hand.  Nature,  he  would  have  us  bear  in  mind,  is  to  some 
extent  a  revelation  of  spiritual  truth,  but  a  revelation  written 
in  strange  characters,  the  key  to  which  is  given  only  in 
the  Bible.  The  same  '  opening  of  the  eyes '  which  enables 
a  believer  to  '  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  God's  law,' 
gives  him  power  also  to  behold  wondrous  things  out  of 
God's  works  all  around.  '  Now,'  says  James,  '  if  you  who, 
being  members  of  Christ's  church,  thus  assert  that  you  can 
read  the  hieroglyphics  of  nature,  will  but  look  at  them 
carefully,  you  will  see  that  everywhere  they  declare  the  utter 
monstrousness  of  such  inconsistencies  of  the  tongue  as  have 
been  mentioned, — seeing  that  God,  whose  children  you  call 
yourselves,  is  not  the  author  of  confusion,  but  of  order.'  '■Doth 
a  fountain  send  forth  at  the  same  place  sweet  water  atid  bitter  V 
'  You  know  that  it  is  not  so.  Near  each  other  may  be  bitter 
springs  and  sweet  springs ;  nay,  in  the  salt  sea  one  may  find  a 
jet  of  fresh  water  thrown  up  to  the  surface  by  a  strong  spring  ;^ 
but  no  fountain  sends  forth  at  one  mouth  sweet  water  and 
bitter.' 

And  not  merely  as  a  matter  of  fact  is  such  inconsistency 
not  found  in  the  physical  sphere,  but  it  is  contrary  to  the  laws 

^  In  the  Gulf  of  Spezzia,  a  branch  of  the  Gulf  of  Genoa,  there  is  a  power- 
ful jet  of  fresh  water  rising  from  the  bed  of  the  sea.  On  the  south  coast  of 
Cuba  also,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  shore,  there  are  fresh-water 
jets  of  such  force  that  boats  cannot  approach  them  without  some  danger. 


VER.  12.]         The  Tongue  I nco7isistent.  267 

that  God  has  given  to  nature,  and  therefore  cannot  occur. 
From  the  '  doth'  of  the  eleventh  verse  we  now  advance  to  the 
'■  can^  regarding  which,  in  the  first  instance,  reference  is  made 
to  an  analogy  from  the  vegetable  kingdom  : '  Can  the  fig-tree,  my 
b7'cthren,  bear  olive  berries  ?  either  a  vine,  figs  V  In  this  illustra- 
tion the  apostle's  intention  is  to  set  forth  simple  incongruity  or 
confusion  of  products,  without  any  contrast  of  bad  and  good 
species,  such  as  appears  in  our  Lord's  similar  question  :  '  Do 
men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles.-^'  ''So  can  no 
fountai7i  both  yield  salt  water  and  fresh!  With  these  words 
James  closes  his  remarks  on  the  inconsistencies  of  the  tongue. 
Seeing,  then,  that  the  fact  and  physical  law  regarding  springs 
have  been  referred  to  merely  by  way  of  illustration,  whilst  the 
statement  before  us  has  all  the  appearance  of  a  weighty  obser- 
vation on  the  main  subject,  it  seems  clear  that  the  apostle  has 
passed  from  an  illustrative  allusion  to  natural  phenomena  into  a 
metaphor.  More  exactly,  perhaps,  the  two  are  conjoined,  but  the 
metaphor  is  the  more  prominent  before  his  mind.  Under  the 
'/ountai?i '  he  thinks  of  the  heart  of  man,  '  out  of  which  are  the 
issues  of  life  ' — issues  of  the  '  salt  water '  of  angry  speech,  bitter 
to  the  taste,  and  destructive  to  the  flowers  of  joy  and  holiness, 
or  of  the  'fresh  water '  of  loving,  truthful,  earnest  utterances, 
sweet  and  life-giving.  With  reference  to  this  fountain,  his 
declaration  is,  that  what  holds  in  outward  nature  holds  in  the 
moral  sphere  also  :  it '  cannot  both  yield  salt  water  and  fresh.' 
It  may  seem  to  do  so  ;  but  where  the  habitual  outflow  is  bitter, 
the  apparently  '  fresh  water '  of  gracious  speech,  which  comes 
at  times,  is  not  really  in  its  nature  quickening  and  fertilizing ; 
for  though  the  praises  of  God  are  spoken,  they  '  come  out  of 
feigned  lips.'  Thus  the  charge  of  inconsistency,  in  anything 
beyond  a  superficial  sense,  is  removed  from  those  slanderous, 
abusive  professors  of  Christianity  to  whom  the  apostle  has  been 
addressing  himself,  but  only  by  the  substitution  of  something 
yet  more  awful.  He  does  not  say  all  this,  you  observe,  but  he 
suggests  it  all ;  and  for  all  who  are  willing  to  think,  the  sugges- 
tion is  perhaps  even  more  impressive  than  the  explicit  state- 
ment would  have  been. 


268         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.    [ch.  iii. 

According  to  another  reading,  supported  by  the  oldest 
manuscripts  and  approved  by  modern  critical  editors,  the 
statement  takes  this  form:  '■Nor  can  salt  water  yield  fresh.'' 
The  force  of  this  is,  in  substance,  the  same  as  that  of  the 
other,  and  expressed  even  more  pointedly.  The  fountain  of 
the  heart  obeys  laws  as  fixed  as  those  by  which  the  fig-tree 
bears  figs,  not  olives,  and  the  vine  grapes,  not  figs.  A  heart 
renewed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  is  a  spring  of  living  water,  '  a 
well  of  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  life.'  Its  outflow  in 
speech,  as  in  conduct,  will  be  pleasant  and  healthful.  There 
may  be  indeed,  since  depravity  is  not  wholly  subdued  here, 
Jets  of  bitter  water,  but  the  habitual  issues  are  sweet.  An 
unrenewed  heart  is  a  deep  well  of  bitterness  3  and  '  salt  water 
cannot  yield  fresh , ' 


VERS.  13-16.]       Earthly  Wisdom.  269 


XVIII. 
EARTHLY    WISDOM. 

'  Who  is  a  wise  man,  and  endued  with  knowledge  among  you  ?  Let  him 
show  out  of  a  good  conversation  his  works  with  meekness  of  wisdom. 
14  But  if  ye  have  bitter  envying  and  strife  in  your  hearts,  glory  not 
and  lie  not  against  the  truth.  15  This  wisdom  descendeth  not  from 
above,  but  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilish ;  16  For  where  envying  and 
strife  is,  there  is  confusion  and  every  evil  work.' — ^James  hi.  13-16. 

THE  connection  of  these  words  with  the  preceding  is 
natural  and  close.  The  apostle,  you  remember,  was 
led  into  that  exposition  and  condemnation  of  sins  of  the 
tongue  which  has  thus  far  occupied  the  chapter,  by  his  know- 
ledge of  the  fact  alluded  to  in  the  first  verse,  that  in' the 
churches  to  which  he  wrote  a  strong  disposition  to  put  them- 
selves forward  as  teachers  was  manifested  by  many  persons 
who  were  not  qualified  for  the  work  by  knowledge  and  Chris- 
tian experience.  Various  most  serious  evils  resulted  from  this; 
and,  in  particular,  the  meetings  of  congregations  were  occasion- 
ally scenes  of  most  unseemly  wrangling,  instead  of  means  of 
edifying  and  comforting  the  brethren.  Many  argued  for  vic- 
tory instead  of  for  truth ;  angry  stinging  words  were  spoken ; 
ill-feeling  was  produced,  which  not  merely  poisoned  happiness 
and  prevented  any  spiritual  advantage  at  the  time,  but  led  to 
alienations  and  outbreaks  of  bitterness  in  ordinary  social  inter- 
course. It  is  plain  from  several  passages  in  Paul's  writings, 
that  he  had  been  much  distressed  by  faults  of  this  kind  in 
some  of  the  churches  to  which  his  Epistles  were  sent ;  and  it 
is  obvious  that  they  weighed  much  on  the  heart  of  James, 
Very  early  in  his  Epistle  we  find  his  convictions  and  feelings 
on  this  subject  uttering  themselves  thus:  'My  beloved  brethren, 
let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak,  slow  to  wrath : 


270         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  hi. 

for  the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God. 
Wherefore  lay  apart  all  filthiness  and  superfluity  of  naughti- 
ness, and  receive  with  meekness  the  ingrafted  word,  which  is 
able  to  save  your  souls'  (i.  19-21).  In  the  remarks  on  the 
sins  of  the  tongue  which  started  from  the  injunction  given  in 
the  first  verse  of  this  chapter,  '  My  brethren,  be  not  many 
masters,'  the  presumptuous  and  turbulent  discussion  of  reli- 
gious questions  has  naturally  been  mainly  in  the  apostle's 
mind  ;  and,  in  the  last  few  verses,  particularly  the  monstrous 
and  grievously  sinful  incongruity  of  the  warm  words  of  devo- 
tion toward  God,  and  the  wrathful  language  toward  men,  which 
were  often  mingled  in  the  Christian  assemblies.  Now  these 
painful  and  discreditable  scenes  arose  from  an  impression  on 
the  part  of  men  who  neither  in  head  nor  heart  were  fitted  for 
the  position  of  Christian  teachers,  that  they  were  so  qualified, 
having  spirituality  and  large  acquaintance  with  truth.  From  the 
point  which  we  have  now  reached,  therefore,  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter,  James  directs  the  attention  of  his  readers  to  the 
nature  and  evidences  of  true  heavenly  wisdom,  and  the  incon- 
sistency with  it  of  everything  like  bitterness  and  hatred. 

The  subject  is  thus  introduced  :  '  Who  is  a  wise  /nan,  and 
endued  with  knowledge  among  you  1  Let  him  show  out  of  a  good 
conversation  his  works  with  meekness  of  wisdom.^  In  substance 
the  meaning  is  evidently  this  :  '  If  there  be  truly  wise  and 
instructed  men  among  you,  they  will  prove  their  wisdom  by  a 
holy  life — a  life  distinguished  by  Christian  meekness.'  But 
the  first  part  of  the  sentence  is  throAvn  into  the  form  of  a 
question,  the  construction  of  the  whole  being  similar  to  what 
we  find,  for  example,  in  the  thirty-fourth  Psalm :  '  What  man 
is  he  that  desireth  life,  and  loveth  many  days,  that  he  may  see 
good  ?  Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil,  and  thy  lips  from  speaking 
guile.  Depart  from  evil,  and  do  good  :  seek  peace,  and  pursue 
it'  (Ps.  xxxiv.  12-14).  You  feel  that  the  interrogative  mode 
of  stating  a  supposition  has  a  peculiar  force  in  the  discussion 
of  morals,  from  its  directness  of  appeal.  Many  of  the  apostle's 
readers  were  conscious  that  they  had  taken  up  a  position  of 
prominence  which  only  persons  who  were  'wise  and  endued 


VER.  13.]  Earthly  Wisdom.  ,  271 

with  knowledge '  could  rightly  fill.  Many  of  his  readers  in  our 
time,  too,  may  be  conscious  of  a  similar  persuasion  in  regard  to 
themselves,  of  fitness  for  a  prominent  position,  though  perhaps 
modern  ecclesiastical  usages  may  have  prevented  its  being  ex- 
hibited exactly  in  the  same  way.  To  each  conscience  goes 
straight  home  the  question,  '  Who  is  a  wise  man  and  endued 
with  knowledge  among  you?' 

'  Let  hitn  show,'' — that  is,  '  The  proper  course  for  such  a  one 
is  to  show ;  and  (for  this  thought  is  plainly  implied  in  the 
injunction)  every  one  that  is  truly  wise  and  well  instructed  will 
show.'  '  Let  him  show,'  then,  what  ?  We  expect  '  his  wisdom,' 
but  the  apostle  expresses  himself  differently.  He  says,  ^  his 
works^ — that  is,  *  his  works  as  a  wise  man^  or,  substantially, 
'  the  works  or  fruits  of  his  wisdom.'  We  have  here  again  what 
may  be  described  as  the  central  thought  of  this  Epistle,  that 
where  religion  has  real  saving  hold  of  a  mind  and  heart,  it  cannot 
from  its  nature  but  powerfully  influence  the  outward  life ;  and 
that  the  more  a  Christian  has  of  true  wisdom  and  spiritual 
knowledge,  the  more  manifestly  will  his  life  at  all  points  be 
governed  by  his  religion.  Talk  of  orthodoxy  and  Christian 
experience,  however  fluent  and  animated  and  clever,  does  not 
of  itself  prove  wisdom ;  the  really  wise  man  will  '  show  his 
works.''  '  Out  of  a  good  conversation,^  James  continues.  The 
word  *  conversation,^  as  employed  in  modern  English,  designates 
one  element  of  our  social  life — the  interchange  of  thought  by 
speech ;  but  at  the  time  our  version  of  the  Bible  was  made,  it 
meant  generally  '  a  course  of  life  or  conduct ; '  and  wherever  it 
occurs  in  the  Bible,  which  it  does  often,  this  is  its  meaning. 
The  line  of  thought  will  in  most  cases  lead  readers  of  any 
intelligence  instinctively  to  give  the  word  something  like  its 
correct  force,  except  perhaps  in  2  Pet.  ii.  7,  where,  in  the  state- 
ment that  'just  Lot  was  vexed  with  the  filthy  conversation  of 
the  wicked,'  there  may  be  a  risk  of  its  being  taken  improperly 
in  the  narrow  sense,  which  covers  only  a  portion  of  the  mean- 
ing. '  Otit  of  here  represents  the  same  original  particle  which 
is  rendered  '■by^  in  'I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works' 
(ch.    ii,    18).     The   meaning   seems   to   be   similar,   and   the 


272         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

same  translation  would  be  clearer  here  :  '  Let  him  show  by  a 
good  course  of  life  his  works.'  The  'works'  here  spoken 
of,  and  the  'good  (beautiful,  noble)  course  of  life,'  are  the 
same,  but  looked  at  in  different  lights.  The  '  works '  are  the 
separate  acts  of  holiness,  of  godly  earnestness  and  godly 
patience,  which  constitute  the  'noble  Hfe;'  and  each  such  act, 
when  we  know  it  to  be  not  isolated,  but  consistent  with  the 
whole  life,  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  new  fruit  and  evidence  of 
wisdom. 

We  have  here,  you  observe,  the  truth  brought  before  us,  that 
genuine  Christian  wisdom,  whether  it  lead  a  man  to  become  a 
teacher  in  the  church  or  not,  will,  at  all  events,  in  all  cases  find 
expression  through  giving  spiritual  loveliness  to  the  whole  daily 
life.  He  is  the  wisest  Christian,  whether  he  occupy  the  pulpit 
or  the  pew, — he  exhibits  the  most  knowledge  of  God,  and  of 
himself,  and  of  Christianity, — he  shows  the  broadest  and  pro- 
foundest  views  of  the  philosophy  of  religion,  of  the  chief  end 
of  man,  and  the  way  to  obtain  happiness, — who  walks  most 
closely  with  God,  and  is  most  perfectly  changed  into  His 
likeness. 

The  apostle,  having  before  his  mind  the  angry,  and  turbu- 
lent, and  arrogant  spirit  often  exhibited  by  professing  Chris- 
tians who  fancied  themselves  wise,  and  because  they  fancied 
themselves  wise,  gives  prominence  to  that  characteristic  of 
true  wisdom  which  is  most  directly  opposed  to  this :  '  Let 
him  show  out  of  a  good  conversation  his  works  with  meek- 
ness of  wisdom^  or  more  exactly,  '/«  wisdom's  meekness.' 
Meekness  is  thus  set  before  us  as  the  disposition  of  heart  in 
which  alone  men  can  show  works  of  real  Christian  wisdom, — 
the  element  or  atmosphere  in  which  alone  a  truly  good,  noble, 
beautiful  course  of  life  can  be  maintained.  This  grace  of 
'  meekness'' — freedom  from  the  spirit  of  wrathfulness,  revenge, 
sullenness,  under  any  kind  of  trouble,  and  this  with  relation 
both  to  God  and  man — is  closely  allied  to  humility,  and 
patience,  and  love.  I  do  not  know  that  at  any  point  the 
opposition  between  the  spirit  of  the  world  and  the  spirit  of 
Christ  is  more  marked,  more  obviously  diametrical,  than  with 


VER.  14.]  Earthly  Wisdom.  273 

regard  to  this  feature  of  character.  That  'the  meek''  should 
'  inherit  the  earth ' — they  that  bear  wrongs,  and  exemphfy  the 
love  which  '  seeketh  not  her  own,' — to  a  world  that  believes  in 
high-handedness  and  self-assertion,  and  pushing  the  weakest  to 
the  wall,  a  statement  like  this  of  the  Lord  from  heaven  cannot 
but  appear  an  utter  paradox.  The  man  of  the  world  desires 
to  be  counted  anything  but  '  meek '  or  '  poor  in  spirit,'  and 
would  deem  such  a  description  of  him  equivalent  to  a  charge 
of  unmanliness.  Ah,  brethren,  this  is  because  we  have  taken 
in  Satan's  conception  of  manliness  instead  of  God's.  One 
Man  has  been  shown  us  by  God,  in  whom  His  ideal  of  man 
was  embodied  ;  and  He,  '  when  He  was  reviled,  reviled  not 
again ;  when  He  suffered,  threatened  not,  but  committed  Him- 
self to  Him  that  judgeth  righteously  :'  He  for  those  who  nailed 
Him  to  the  tree  prayed,  *  Father,  forgive  them  ;  for  they  know 
not  what  they  do.'  The  world's  spirit  of  wrath,  then,  must  be 
folly;  whilst  than  a  spirit  of  meekness  like  His,  in  the  midst  of 
controversy,  oppositions,  trials  of  whatever  kind,  there  can  be  no 
surer  evidence  that  'Jesus  is  made  of  God  to  His  people  wisdom.' 
In  the  fourteenth  verse,  the  other  side  —  the  case  as  it 
actually  stood  with  a  great  number  of  the  readers  —  is  pre- 
sented with  much  pointedness  and  force  :  '  But  if  ye  have  bitter 
envying  and  strife  in  your  hearts,  glory  not  and  lie  not  against 
the  truth.'  James  probes  here  to  the  quick  for  the  patient's 
good.  He  tears  off  the  tissue  of  plausibilities  (zeal  for  God's 
glory,  ardour  on  behalf  of  truth,  and  the  like),  in  which  an 
envenomed,  arrogant,  bigoted  spirit  often  enwraps  itself,  and 
lays  bare  the  moral  deformity  and  defilement — '  bitter  envying 
and  strife'  We  have  not  here  the  pleasant  '  water  of  life'  (the 
image  of  the  twelfth  verse  is  perhaps  still  in  the  apostle's 
mind),  but  '  bitter  waters'  of  hatred.  'If  such  be  your  spirit,' 
he  says,  '■glory  not  and  lie  not  agaijist  the  truth ;'  that  is,  'Do 
not  boast  that  you  are  wise,  wise  with  the  wisdom  of  heaven  : 
for  in  so  boasting  you  He,  and  this  glorying  and  falsehood  are 
in  direct  opposition  to  God's  truth.  The  gospel  of  Christ' 
(for  this  is  what  is  here,  as  so  often  in  the  New  Testament, 
meant  by  'the  truth')  'has  for  its  spirit  love,  meekness,  long- 


274         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch,  hi. 

suffering;  and  thus  the  wisdom  which  Christ  gives  through 
that  truth  reveals  itself  in  these  graces:  if  ye,  then,  have  in 
your  hearts  envy,  and  self-seeking,  and  contentiousness,  to 
boast  of  these  as  being  His  wisdom  is  to  he  against  Him  and 
His  truth.'  I  need  hardly  observe  that  we  are  not  to  take 
these  words  of  the  apostle  as  a  declaration  that  controversy  on 
religious  points  is  always  a  bad  thing.  The  life  of  our  Lord, 
and  the  lives  and  writings  of  His  inspired  followers,  all  prove 
the  reverse  to  be  true.  It  is  often  the  duty  of  Christians,  in 
'  holding  fast  the  form  of  sound  words,'  to  '  contend  earnestly 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints ; '  yet  our  apostle's 
teaching  in  this  passage  will  not  have  its  full  and  proper  effect 
on  our  minds,  unless  it  leave  a  very  distinct  impression  that  a 
so-called  zeal  for  religion  may  be  a  very  irreligious  zeal,  that 
controversy  always  involves  very  serious  spiritual  hazards,  and 
that  wherever  love  fails  and  a  spirit  of  bitterness  enters  in, 
there  is  sin. 

The  statement  that  to  give  the  name  of  Christian  wisdom  to 
a  condition  of  mind  and  heart  such  as  has  been  described  in 
the  first  clause  of  the  fourteenth  verse,  is  '  to  boast  and  he 
against  God's  truth/  is  supported  and  illustrated  in  the  two 
verses  that  follow.  '  This  wisdom^  says  James,  '  descefideth  not 
from  above,  but  is  eart/ily,  sensual,  devilish.^  The  wisdom  which 
displays  itself  in  bitterness  (and  alas,  brethren,  in  the  history 
of  the  church  of  Christ,  how  often  has  fancied  wisdom  dis- 
played itself  in  bitterness  !  how  much  of  real  knowledge  and 
mental  power  has  been  wasted  in  such  bitterness!) — this 
wisdom  is  not  from  heaven ;  but  as  it  displays  itself  on  earth, 
so  it  is  also  of  '■  eartJily''  origin.  And,  being  'earthly,'  it  is 
*  sensual.^  The  word  so  translated  occurs  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment several  times,  but  is  rendered  '  sensual'  only  here  and 
in  a  verse  in  Jude,  where  '  mockers,  walking  after  their  own 
lusts,'  are  described  as  '  sensual,  having  not  the  Spirit '  (Jude 
19).  Elsewhere  the  rendering  is  'natural,'  as  in  the  contrast 
between  the  'natural  body'  and  the  'spiritual  body'  in  the 
fifteenth  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  and 
in  the  statement  in  the  second  chapter  of  the  same  epistle,  that 


VER.  15.]  Earthly  Wisdom.  275 

*  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ' 
(i  Cor.  XV.  44,  ii.  14).  According  to  its  derivation,  the  original 
word  strictly  means  '  belonging  to  the  soul.''  The  contrast 
with  spirit  and  the  spiritual,  which  is  expressed  in  the  pas- 
sages that  I  have  quoted  from  First  Corinthians  and  from 
Jude,  and  imphed  in  that  now  before  us,  is  the  key  to  the 
exact  meaning.  Sometimes  in  Scripture,  as  commonly  among 
ourselves,  man  is  spoken  of  as  consisting  of  a  body  and  a  soul, 
in  which  case  '  soul '  is  used  in  the  widest  sense.  Sometimes, 
however,  we  have  three  constituent  elements  mentioned  or 
alluded  to — the  body,  soul,  and  spirit.^  According  to  this 
division,  the  ^  soul'  comprehends  only  those  energies  and 
capacities  of  mind  and  heart  which  have  to  do  with  the  world 
known  by  our  bodily  senses, — man's  mental  and  emotional 
nature  in  so  far  merely  as  he  is  the  highest  of  the  animals — an 
animal  able  to  buy  and  sell,  as  the  beaver  can  build  a  hut  and 
a  dam;  the  ^spirit''  is  that  highest  power  of  a  rational  being 
by  which  it  can  apprehend  the  idea  of  God,  and  hold  com- 
munion with  Him, — by  which  through  faith  it  can  live  under 
the  influences  of  an  unseen  world.  The  '  spirit'  should  be  the 
governing  principle,  holding  the  whole  nature  under  a  firm  and 
healthful  sway.  But,  as  you  know,  brethren,  in  man,  as  he  now 
is  by  nature,  the  spirit  is  darkened,  perverted,  and  weakened  ; 
it  is  dethroned  through  sin ;  and  only  the  enlightening  and 
strengthening  energy  of  God's  Spirit  can  enable  our  spirits  to 
take  their  rightful  dignity  and  rule.  Where  the  spirit  does  not 
rule,  the  soul — that  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the  mental  and  emo- 
tional nature  in  so  far  as  it  is  occupied  with  the  world  open 
to  the  senses — tends  to  become  ever  more  and  more  subject  to 
the  lowest  element  of  our  constitution,  the  appetites  of  the 
body.  Hence  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
distinguishes  all  men  into  two  classes — those  who  are  '  in  the 
flesh,'  and  those  who  are  '  in  the  spirit ; '  the  standard  on  which 

^  See  I  Thess.  v.  23,  Heb.  iv.  12.  The  subject  is  fully  discussed  in 
Delitzsch's  Biblical  Psychology,  and  more  briefly  in  a  sermon  by  Bishop 
EJlicott  on  I  Thess.  v.  23,  in  the  volume  entitled  The  Destiny  of  the 
Creature,  and  other  Sermo?ts. 


276         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

the  division  is  based  being  that  which  I  have  now  indicated  : 
'  Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  spirit,  if  so  be  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  yoti '  (viii.  9). 

You  see,  then,  that  when  James  here  calls  the  wisdom  that 
bore  bitter  wranglings  as  its  fruit  a  wisdom  ^  of  the  soiil^  with 
an  implied  and  well  understood  contrast  to  that  wisdom  of 
the  spirit  which  ought  to  regulate  all  the  thoughts  and  feelings, 
words  and  actions,  of  Christians,  he  means  that  it  belongs 
entirely  to  the  lower  elements  of  our  nature,  and  that  its 
characteristics  are  simply  those  of  the  wisdom  belonging  to 
the  men  of  the  world,  whose  aim  is  personal  honour  and 
aggrandisement.  The  words  which  this  wisdom  utters  may 
be  of  God's  glory,  but  their  real  aim  is  man's  glory.  Its 
plans  and  procedure  have  all  reference  to  self  and  to  this 
world  of  the  senses,  though  the  subjects  it  discusses  may 
belong  to  the  invisible  world,  the  world  known  to  faith. 
Rightly  understood,  then,  brethren,  you  cannot  but  feel  how 
searching  and  scathing  this  word  of  the  apostle  is ;  and  it  is 
interesting  to  notice,  that  the  very  same  tempers  which  are 
here  denounced  as  iijispi?'it2ial,  merely  '  of  the  soiil,^  are  those 
which  the  Apostle  Paul  specifies  as  peculiarly  grieving  to  that 
Divine  Spirit  through  whose  indwelling  alone  man's  spirit  has 
rule  over  his  lower  nature.  '  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
God,  whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption.  Let 
all  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and  anger,  and  clamour,  and  evil- 
speaking,  be  put  away  from  you,  with  all  malice  :  and  be  ye 
kind  one  to  another,  tender-hearted,  forgiving  one  another, 
even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven  you'  (Eph.  iv. 
30-32).  From  the  completeness  with  which  the  distinction 
between  sojil  and  spirit  has  been  lost  to  our  modern  thought, 
it  seems  impossible  to  give  the  idea  of  the  word  before  us  ex- 
actly in  any  translation.  'Sensual'  and  'animal'  suggest  too 
exclusively  the  action  of  the  very  lowest  propensities  of  our 
nature,  though,  as  we  have  seen,  the  tendency  of  the  *  soul,' 
when  ungoverned  by  the  '  spirit,'  is  steadily  towards  subjection 
to  these.  Perhaps,  on  the  whole,  '  natural,'  in  its  well  under- 
stood opposition  to  '  spiritual,'  is  the  best  word. 


VER.  1 6.]  Earthly  Wisdom.  277 

But  something  more  awful  still  has  to  be  said  of  this  wicked 
wisdom.  Like  all  wisdom  among  men  on  moral  questions, 
which  is  only  '  earthly,'  only  'natural,'  it  is  ^devilish'' — devil- 
like. Our  first  parents  yielded  to  the  temptation  to  sin,  be- 
cause they  considered  that  the  tree  was  '  to  be  desired  to  make 
one  wise  ;'  and  this  was  the  wisdom — a  wisdom  kindred  to  that 
of  Satan,  whose  lie  seduced  them — full  of  envy  and  falsehood, 
moving  ever  in  the  atmosphere  of  selfishness  and  malignity. 
Where  zeal  even  regarding  religion  shows  itself  in  unholy 
tempers  like  these,  the  fire  of  this  zeal  is  fire  from  the  bottom- 
less pit.  The  '  spirit '  of  man  is  in  action  here  as  well  as  the 
'  soul  3'  but,  alas,  the  grandeur  of  the  capabilities  of  this  con- 
stituent of  our  being  only  deepens  the  debasement ;  and  the 
spirit  '  made  but  a  little  lower  than  the  angels '  of  light,  links 
itself  with  the  lost  angels  of  darkness. 

The  sixteenth  verse  justifies  the  strong  statements  of  the 
fifteenth  :  '  For  where  envying  and  strife  is,'  such  as  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fourteenth  verse  has  been  supposed,  'there' — 
always,  both  in  the  envious  persons  themselves  and  in  others 
whom  their  spirit  influences — '  is  confusion,'  turbulence  and  dis- 
traction of  every  kind — mental,  moral,  and  social.  Ah,  brethren, 
from  the  day  when  envy  and  self-seeking — springing  up,  too, 
in  immediate  connection  with  religious  worship  at  God's  altar — 
desolated  Adam's  family,  what  ruin  has  this  spirit  wrought  in 
families,  churches,  communities  of  every  kind  !  Now  '  God  is 
not  the  author  of  confusion,  but  of  peace ' — peace  in  the  indi- 
vidual heart,  and  in  the  societies,  where  the  gospel  rules.  He 
is  the  '  God  of  peace,'  and  His  revelation  is  the  '  gospel  of 
peace.'  What  produces  '  confusion,'  then,  cannot  be  from  Him. 
Not  '  confusion'  only,  but  'every  evi/work,'  may  naturally  spring 
from  this  bitter  root  of  envy  and  contentiousness.  If  love  be 
'the  fulfilling  of  God's  law,'  as  He  Himself  declares  it  to  be, 
then  lovelessness  in  any  of  its  forms  cannot  but,  if  persistently 
indulged,  sap,  poison,  destroy  the  whole  moral  nature.  This 
wisdom  is  certainly  not  '  from  the  Father  of  lights,  from  whom 
Cometh  down  every  good  and  every  perfect  gift,'  and  nothing 
but  good  and  perfect  gifts.     It  is  '  earthly,  sensual,  devilish.' 


278         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch,  hi. 


XIX. 

HEAVENLY  WISDOM. 

'  But  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle, 
and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  without  par- 
tiality, and  without  hypocrisy.  18  And  the  fruit  of  righteousness  is 
sowii  in  peace  of  them  that  make  peace.' — ^James  III.  17,  18. 

THE  apostle  passes  on  now  to  depict  for  us  the  features  of 
real  wisdom, — that  only  satisfying  wisdom  for  immortal 
creatures  of  which  '  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning.'  This 
wisdom  is  '■from  above.''  That  with  which  the  apostle  has  con- 
trasted it  was  described  as  '  earthly,'  having  its  origin  in  the 
blinded  minds  and  corrupt  hearts  of  men  themselves ;  but 
this  is  a  '  good  and  perfect  gift,'  such  as  comes  only  from  the 
'Father  of  lights.'  It  is  found  only  in  those  whom  'of  His 
own  will  He  hath  begotten  by  the  word  of  truth.'  It  comes 
through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  *  not  of  ourselves,  but 
the  gift  of  God.' 

James  proceeds  to  exhibit  some  of  its  main  results  and  evi- 
dences in  heart  and  life.  You  observe  that  he  does  not  dwell 
on  its  basis,  or  the  way  in  which  it  is  attained.  In  speaking 
of  '  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above,'  he  assumes  that  his  readers 
know  of  such  a  wisdom,  and  believe  in  its  heavenly  origin  : 
he  assumes  indeed,  we  may  say,  as  generally  throughout  the 
Epistle,  that  they  were  familiar  with  the  central  truths  of  the 
religion  of  Jesus  which  they  professed,  his  aim  everywhere 
being  to  show  how  the  vital  reception  of  these  truths  will  show 
itself  in  man's  moral  nature.  The  question  that  he  answers 
in  the  verse  before  us  is  this  :  '  If  a  man,  feeling  that  he  lacks 
wisdom,  has  asked  of  God,  who  giveth  to  all  liberally;  if  a 
man  has  been  begotten  again  with  the  word  of  truth,  and  thus 
has  |he  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  of  glory,  so 


VER.  17.]  Heavenly  Wisdom.  279 

that  the  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  him, — how  will  this  celestial 
wisdom  reveal  its  presence  ?'  The  characteristics  are  set  forth 
under  two  heads,  which,  with  logical  precision,  James  marks 
with  the  notation  ^  first '  and  '  then^  that  is  to  say,  '  in  the  first 
place,'  and  'in  the  second  place  3'  the  first  division  having 
reference  to  the  influence  of  heavenly  wisdom  on  a  man 
looked  at  simply  by  himself,  the  other  to  its  influence  on  him 
considered  as  a  member  of  society.^  The  division  is  the  same, 
only  in  the  inverse  order,  as  that  before  given  by  the  apostle  of 
the  features  of  'true  and  undefiled  religious  service:'  'to  visit 
the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  him- 
self unspotted  from  the  world.' 

Under  the  first  head,  according  to  the  division  here,  the 
influence  of  heavenly  wisdom  on  a  man's  moral  nature,  looked 
at  simply  by  himself,  James  mentions  only  one  characteristic, 
but  that  a  most  comprehensive  one :  '  this  wisdom,'  he  says 
— that  is,  as  of  course  the  meaning  must  be  in  speaking  of 
the  moral  results  of  wisdom,  the  man  who  possesses  it — is 
^pnre^  The  Christianly  wise  man  shrinks  from  moral  defile- 
ment of  every  kind.  Nothing  less  wide  of  range  than  this  is 
involved  in  the  word  'pure'  here.  One  great  fundamental 
characteristic  of  the  morality  taught  in  the  Bible  is,  that  it 
occupies  the  whole  nature.  '  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart, 
for  they  shall  see  God:'  'Blessed  are  the  undefiled  in  the 
way,  who  walk  in  the  law  of  the  Lord.'  The  truly  wise  man 
is  he  who  has  conformity  of  spirit  to  the  '  only  wise  God,'  who 
beUeves  what  God  teaches,  loves  what  God  loves,  lives  as 
Jesus  lived — He  who  was  the  express  image  of  the  invisible 
God.  'Purity,'  as  required  by  God,  and  exemplified  in  the 
measure  of  their  faith  by  all  Christ's  people,  implies  a  supe- 
riority of  soul,  which  will  show  itself  continually  in  word  and 

^  A  most  discreditable  misapplication  of  the  apostle's  logical  terms  '  first ' 
and  '  then, '  is  sometimes  made  in  the  interests  of  bigotry  and  uncharitable- 
ness.  He  does  not  say  that  one  whom  we  cannot  doubt  to  be  a  Christian 
must  'first'  have  his  doctrine  in  every  minute  point  what  we  think  'pure,' 
before  our  relations  to  him  can  be  'peaceable.'  His  teaching  tliroughout 
the  whole  passage  is,  in  substance,  the  saying  of  the  very  reverse. 


28o         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes,    [ch.  hi. 

deed,  to  everything  low  and  sensual,  to  everything  selfish  and 
mean, — a  freedom  from  petty  views  and  sinister  ends,  and,  on 
the  contrary,  a  relish  and  love  of  everything  really  great  and 
good.  By  such  moral  convictions,  and  feelings,  and  conduct, 
a  man  is  proved  to  be  wise  with  that  heavenly  wisdom  which 
consists  in  a  true,  vital,  energetic  apprehension  of  his  relations 
to  God,  of  the  chief  end  of  man,  of  duty  and  happiness.  How 
sadly  unwise,  then,  my  brethren,  a  very  large  proportion  of 
those  who  call  and  deem  themselves  Christians  must  be ;  and 
how  much  of  folly  must  mingle  with  the  wisdom  even  of  the 
wisest  here  below  !  The  divine  ideal  of  the  church  for  which 
Jesus  gave  Himself  up  to  death,  is  a  '  bride  adorned  for  her 
Husband'  with  all  the  graces  of  holy  beauty, — 'a  glorious  church, 
sanctified  and  cleansed  with  the  washing  of  water  through  the 
word,'  and  thus  freed  from  '  spot  and  wrinkle,  and  every  such 
thing.'  How  lamentably  different  from  this  divine  ideal  the 
reality  seems  to  be,  if  we  take  it  to  be  set  before  us  in  the 
visible  church  now!  Are  worldUness,  self-indulgence,  gross- 
ness  of  spirit,  a  glaringly  unchristlike  life,  unknown  among  the 
men  that  have  assumed  the  vows  of  God  ?  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
no  Christian  becomes  perfect  here  below ;  but  the  wisdom  that 
is  from  above  teaches  all  who  possess  it  to  make  perfect  purity, 
absolute  stainlessness  of  the  whole  nature,  the  goal  of  their 
efforts  and  the  subject  of  their  earnest  prayers.  In  all  such, 
though  the  law  of  sin  in  the  members  will  still  doubtless,  whilst 
they  are  here,  war  with  the  law  of  the  mind,  yet  the  power 
of  the  new  man  over  the  old  will  grow  clearly  stronger  and 
stronger ;  and  at  last  victory  will  be  completely  won,  and  the 
emancipated  nature,  wise  nov/  up  to  its  fullest  capacity  of 
wisdom,  will  glorify  the  Redeemer  perfectly,  being  holy  in  all 
things,  as  He  is  holy. 

Under  his  second  class  of  the  characteristics  of  heavenly 
wisdom,  those  in  which  are  exhibited  its  moral  influence  on 
man  as  a  member  of  society,  the  apostle  mentions  six.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  '■peaceable.'  'Envying  and  strife,'  James  has 
already  said,  prove  a  so-called  wisdom  to  be  not  heavenly, 
but,  in  the  worst  acceptation  of  the  term,  '  earthly.'     So  also 


VER.  17.]  Heavenly  Wisdom.  281 

Paul  says  to  the  Corinthians,  'Whereas  there  is  among  you 
envying,  and  strife,  and  divisions,  are  ye  not  carnal,  and  walk 
as  men?'  (i  Cor.  iii.  3.)  The  wisdom  that  is  really  from  above 
leads  a  man  to  delight  in  peace.  The  spirit  of  love  will  reign 
in  his  heart,  and,  so  far  as  his  influence  extends,  turbulence 
and  contention  will  be  discouraged,  whether  in  business,  in 
ordinary  social  intercourse,  in  religious  or  political  procedure. 
Perpetual  and  uncompromising  war  with  sin  in  ourselves  and 
in  the  world,  but  love  to  our  neighbours  as  to  ourselves,  tender 
pity  for  their  weaknesses  such  as  we  need  for  our  own,  forgive- 
ness for  their  trespasses  against  us  such  as  we  ask  of  God  for 
ours  against  Him, — this  is  wisdom. 

The  spirit  of  peace,  a  disposition  and  longing  for  peace,  the 
wise  man  always  has,  in  so  far  as  he  is  wise ;  but  the  existence 
of  the  external  condition  of  peace  necessarily  depends  to  some 
extent  on  the  will  of  others.  Our  part  is,  as  Paul  puts  it  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  wherever  it  '  is  possible,'  and  always 
*  as  much  as  lieth  in  us,  to  live  peaceably  with  all  men.'  But 
there  are  worse  things,  incomparably  worse  things,  than  the  non- 
existence of  external  peace ;  and  it  would  evince  anything  but 
the  possession  of  heavenly  wisdom  not  to  recognise  this  fact. 
Had  external  peace  been  the  best  of  all  things,  then  Jesus 
Avould  not  have  come  among  us  with  His  work  and  gospel  of 
grace ;  for  so  certain  is  the  resistance  that  sin  makes  to  it  to 
interrupt  in  innumerable  cases  and  ways  external  peace,  that 
He  Himself,  the  Prince  of  peace,  testified,  '  Think  not  that  I 
am  come  to  send  peace  on  earth ;  I  came  not  to  send  peace, 
but  a  sword.'  '  There  are  many  sacrifices  which  must  not  be 
made  by  Christians,  even  to  secure  peace.  We  must  not 
flatter  nor  imitate  what  we  think  wrong  in  men's  opinions  and 
conduct,  in  order  to  have  peace  with  them ;  we  must  not  buy 
peace  at  the  cost  of  truth  and  justice ;  we  must  not  omit  duty 
for  it,  nor  commit  sin.  If  men  will  not  be  at  peace  with  us 
but  on  principles  which  infer  our  disloyalty  to  the  Supreme 
King,  and  are  thus  inconsistent  with  our  primary  and  para- 
mount obligations,  then  peace,  however  desirable,  must  be 
parted  with,  for  the  plain  reason,  that  to  have  God  for  a  Friend 


282         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

is  a  greater  good,  an  immeasurably  greater  good,  than  to  have 
all  the  world  as  our  enemies  is  an  evil.'^ 

This  wisdom  is  '■gentle''  also.  The  exact  idea  intended  by 
the  original  word  is  '  considerate  and  forbearing.'  The  Chris- 
tianly  wise  man  loves  to  make  allowances  for  the  ignorance 
and  weakness  of  others,  knowing  how  much  and  constant  need 
he  stands  in  of  having  allowances  made  for  him  both  by  God 
and  man.  In  his  business  dealings  with  others,  for  example, 
— knowing  that  human  laws,  however  carefully  made,  yet,  if 
always  rigidly  enforced,  will  often  act  cruelly  and  unjustly, — 
he  guides  himself  by  the  broad  principles  of  equity  in  the 
sight  of  God.  In  his  judgment  of  the  conduct  of  men,  he 
takes  a  kindly  view  wherever  it  is  possible,  never  believing 
evil  of  them  until  he  cannot  help  it.  In  his  judgment  of 
men's  opinions,  he  remembers  how  inadequately  the  loose 
language  of  many  represents  their  real  views,  how  many  men 
are  much  better  than  their  professed  creed,  and  how  unfair  the 
practice  so  common  in  controversy  is,  of  ascribing  to  a  man  as 
held  by  him  views  which  zve  may  think  legitimately  deduced 
from  his  avowed  principles,  but  which  he  himself  may  hold  in 
abhorrence.  In  every  department  of  his  thought  and  life,  the 
possessor  of  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  '  considerate  and 
forbearing.'  Many  professing  Christians  may  tremble  to  think 
of  this  characteristic. 

Again,  it  is  '■easy  to  be  entreated.^  The  wise  man  is  free 
from  everything  hke  repulsive  austerity,  neither  has  he  aught 
of  headstrong  self-sufhciency  and  obstinacy.  He  is  accessible 
and  open  to  remonstrance  from  persons  reasonably  entitled  to 
give  it,  regarding  any  opinion  he  has  formed  or  anything  he 
has  done  or  proposed,  especially  affecting  others.  We  see  a 
fine  example  of  this  feature  of  heavenly  wisdom  in  David, 
when,  though  extremely  irritated  by  the  insolence  and  in- 
gratitude of  Nabal,  he  yielded  to  the  pleadings  of  Abigail, 
and  said :  '  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  which  hath 
sent  thee  this  day  to  meet  me ;  and  blessed  be  thy  advice ; 

1  Dr.  John  Brown's  Comtneniary  011  Romans,  p.  475.  The  language  is 
sHghtly  altered. 


YER.  17.]  Heavenly  Wisdom.  283 

and  blessed  be  thou,  which  hast  kept  me  this  day  from  coming 
to  shed  blood,  and  from  avenging  myself  with  mine  own  hand.' 
The  wise  man  never  nurses  anger;  but  even  when  he  has  just 
ground  of  complaint,  longs  for  kindly  relations  with  his  brother. 
The  offender  therefore  finds  the  offended  not  disposed  to  insist 
on  humbling  him  in  the  dust  of  penitential  acknowledgments, 
but  ready  to  meet  him  half-way,  rejoicing  in  the  prospect  of 
concord. 

Another  feature  of  this  wisdom  is,  that  it  is  '/////  of  mercy 
and  good  fruits  I'  The  wise  man  pities  all  who  are  called  on 
to  suffer,  and  this  is  the  feature  of  character  here  indicated  : 
for,  as  I  have  had  occasion  to  show  in  a  previous  lecture,^ 
where  mercy  is  spoken  of  in  Scripture  as  a  Christian  duty, 
it  does  not  refer  merely  to  the  forgiveness  of  those  who  have 
wronged  us,  but  more  widely  to  active  compassion  for  those 
who  are  in  trouble  and  sorrow.  He  whom  God  has  made 
wise  'weeps  with  them  that  weep,'  and  'remembers  them 
that  are  in  bonds,  as  if  bound  with  them ;'  and  these  tears 
and  remembrances  are  no  mere  self-indulgent  exercise  of 
sentiment,  but  conjoined  with  earnest  and  persevering  effort 
an'd  self-sacrifice  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering.  This  wisdom 
is  'full  oi  good  fruits,'  you  observe;  and,  while  naturally  sug- 
gesting a  richness  of  holy  and  beautiful  fruitage  of  every  kind, 
contrasting  with  the  '  every  evil  work '  which  in  the  previous 
verse  is  ascribed  to  '  envying  and  strife '  as  their  legitimate 
result,  yet  the  close  connection  of  the  'good  fruits'  with 
*  mercy '  plainly  indicates  a  special  reference  to  its  fruits. 
Christian  wisdom  exerts  herself  actively  for  the  relief  of  sor- 
row in  private,  in  the  sphere  which  God  has  given  to  each 
individual ;  and  helps  onward  by  every  means  within  her 
reach  enterprises  of  combined  effort  for  elevating  our  race 
from  its  wretchedness,  for  breaking  any  of  the  shackles  with 
which  sin  has  bound  humanity.  In  all  true  beUevers,  ac- 
cording to  their  faith  and  their  opportunities,  John  Howard 
and  Elizabeth  Fry  have  true  fellow-labourers,  true  brethren 
and  sisters, — nay.  He  has,  who  '  went  about  doing  good.' 
^  On  ii.  13. 


284         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

Heavenly  wisdom  is  '/////  of  good  fruits  :'  it  abounds  with 
them ;  and  hence,  whenever  it  is  present,  you  cannot  fail  to 
find  them ;  or,  if  you  do  fail,  the  wisdom  must  be  miserably 
stunted  and  blighted  by  the  influence  of  worldliness.  On  the 
healthy  tree  every  branch  is  laden  with  the  fruits  of  mercy. 
By  them  will  the  reckoning  be  at  the  judgment.  'Whoso- 
ever shall  give  to  drink  unto  one  of  these  little  ones  a  cup 
of  cold  water  only  in  the  name  of  a  disciple,  verily  I  say  unto 
you,  he  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his  reward.'  And  let  not  any 
poor,  and  ignorant,  and  uninfluential  Christian  think  that  from 
the  narrowness  of  his  sphere  he  cannot  be  '"full  of  mercy  and 
good  fruits.'  The  Lord's  mode  of  reckoning  is  not  like  man's. 
In  casting  into  the  temple  treasury  the  two  mites  that  came 
out  of  deep  poverty  and  deep  love,  the  widow  was  far  more 
*  full  of  good  fruits '  than  the  rich  men  who  cast  in  many  times 
the  sum  with  no  self-sacrifice  and  little  true  love.  Ever  and 
anon,  on  a  Highland  hill-side,  one  passes  a  little  rocky  cup 
filled  with  cool  crystal  water  from  a  deep  unfailing  spring. 
The  little  cup  barely  affords  a  draught  to  the  traveller,  and 
yet,  because  it  fails  not,  what  a  multitude  of  weary  wayfarers 
does  it  refresh  and  invigorate,  generation  after  generation ;  and 
how  green  and  beautiful  the  litde  rill  that  trickles  from  it  keeps 
a  long  stretch  of  the  mountain-side  !  So,  however  little  the  cup 
of  cold  water  be  that  you  are  able  to  give  in  Christ's  name,  it 
will  refresh  many  hearts  in  a  lifetime  if  it  be  kept  ever  full, 
ever  ready. 

The  last  two  characteristics  of  heavenly  wisdom  which  James 
mentions  are  shown  by  the  form  of  the  words  employed  in  the 
original,  as  well  as  by  their  meaning,  to  be  very  closely  allied 
to  each  other.  The  sense  of  the  first  of  the  two  words 
appears  to  be  something  more  comprehensive  than  the  '  without 
partiality '  of  our  version.  Freedom  from  partiality  is  included 
in  it,  but  more  also.  The  exact  idea  seems  to  be  that  of 
freedom  from  the  '  doubting '  or  '  wavering '  of  spirit  of  which 
the  apostle  has  already  again  and  again,  and  with  much  earnest- 
ness, pointed  out  the  evil.-^  '  Without  loavering  and  without 
*  See  ch.  i.  6-8  and  ii.  4. 


VER.  17.]  Heavenly  Wisdom.  285 

hypocrisy^  then — '  steady  and  sincere,' — these  are  the  two  closing 
features  in  the  description.  The  man  who  is  really  wise  has 
fixed  principles.  He  is  no  dogmatist,  but  always  open  to 
light;  yet  the  grand  principles  which  God  has  distinctly  re- 
vealed in  His  word  are  so  firmly  believed  by  him,  that  in 
regard  to  all  moral  questions  and  relations  these  principles  are 
settled,  unalterable,  unassailable  data  for  his  reasonings.  They 
are  pillars  on  which  all  the  details  of  his  character  are  built  up 
and  rest.  The  moral  life  of  such  a  man  is  therefore  simple 
and  stable.  A  person  who  does  not  take  the  absolutely  wise 
and  absolutely  harmonious  will  of  God  as  his  rule  of  judgment 
and  action,  must  have  an  utterly  discordant  character.  Selfish- 
ness, in  some  one  of  its  myriad  forms,  is  its  basis ;  yet  there 
are  yearnings  in  the  soul  now  and  again  after  what  is  noble 
and  beautiful,  and  good  influences  of  many  kinds  act  upon 
it.  Thus  the  man's  views  and  aims  are  a  congeries  of  incon- 
sistencies and  contradictions ;  and  accordingly  in  his  conduct 
there  is  no  steadiness  or  congruity, — his  procedure  in  cases 
essentially  similar  being  by  what  is  merely  casual  swayed  in 
altogether  opposite  directions,  and  possibly  neither  of  them 
the  right  one.  Too  many  Christians,  through  want  of  decision, 
share  largely  in  this  instability,  their  moral  judgments  and  con- 
duct being  to  a  great  extent  determined,  at  least  modified  or 
coloured,  by  circumstances  having  no  real  connection  with  the 
merits  of  the  case  in  hand,  instead  of  resting  on  the  everlasting 
verities.  With  the  truly  wise  Christian  the  case  is  altogether 
different.  One  who  knows  him  can  never  be  in  doubt  what 
his  opinion  will  be,  or  his  course,  in  any  matter  where  a  moral 
principle  is  clearly  involved  ;  for  iho.  principle  is  what  he  mainly 
regards  always,  and  he  will  not  allow  himself  to  be  diverted 
from  what  he  sees  to  be  right  by  any  considerations  arising  out 
of  non-essential  circumstances.  His  views,  feelings,  and  con- 
duct are  consistent.  In  every  department  of  his  life  he  displays 
this  consistency  and  stability ;  and  in .  his  dealings  with  other 
men,  in  particular,  there  is  nothing  which  more  decidedly  than 
this  constitutes  him  an  epistle  of  Jesus  Christ, — telling  the 
truth  to  all  beholders  regarding;  the  ends  and  energies  of  the 


286         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [en.  iii. 

gospel.  His  standard  of  value  for  men  is  moral  excellence, 
because  he  knows  this  to  be  God's  standard ;  and  he  applies 
it  according  to  his  light,  faithfully,  cautiously,  with  tenderness 
and  charity.  Wickedness  he  hates  and  condemns,  whether  it 
show  itself  under  purple  and  fine  linen,  or  rags.  He  'honours 
all  men,'  but  he  'loves  the  brotherhood'  with  a  peculiarly 
strong  affection,  because  they  are  Christ's  ;  and  as  they  are 
Christ's,  and  honoured  by  Him,  whether  they  live  in  a  garret 
or  a  palace,  the  wise  man's  love  for  them  also  is  not  dependent 
on  their  outward  position.  Thus,  through  his  being  '  stable '  in 
principle,  he  is  '  without  partiality.' 

The  Christianly  wise  man  is  '■■without  hypocrisy''  too.  Bear- 
ing ever  about  with  him  the  thought,  '  Thou  God  seest  me  ' — 
a  joyful  thought  for  one  vvho  in  God  recognises  his  gracious 
Father — he  strives  in  everything  to  be  sincere,  to  shun  all 
mere  stage-play,  to  speak  and  act  according  to  his  real  views 
and  feelings,  to  have  seeming  and  being  in  true  accordance. 
As  a  rule,  the  world  deems  some  measure  of  hypocrisy  a  pru- 
dent thing,  and  indeed  essential  to  success ;  but  '  the  wisdom 
of  this  world  is  foolishness  with  God.' 

All  moral  beauty  in  God's  creatures  is  a  reflection  of  the 
ineffable  radiance  of  His  holiness.  In  every  feature  of  the 
heavenly  wisdom  which  we  have  been  contemplating,  we  dis- 
cern the  image  of  Him  who  is  '  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold 
evil,'  who  loves  to  be  known  as  the  '  God  of  peace,'  whose 
'  gentleness '  makes  His  servants  great,  who  is  '  good,  and 
ready  to  forgive,  and  plenteous  in  mercy  unto  all  them  that 
call  upon  Him,'  and  '  who  cannot  lie.'  '  Beholding  His  glory,' 
may  we  be  '  changed  into  His  image,  from  glory  to  glory,  by  the 
Lord  the  Spirit  !'i 

The  eighteenth  verse  corresponds  in  the  description  of  the 
true  wisdom  to  the  sixteenth  verse  in  the  description  of  the 

'  '  The  seven  qualities  which  James  attributes  to  the  wisdom  from  above 
are  nothing  but  the  seven  colours  of  the  one  ray  of  light  of  heavenly  truth, 
which  has  been  revealed  and  has  appeared  in  Christ  Himself.  He  is  there- 
fore supremely  entitled  to  the  name,  "  the  Wisdom  of  God. " '    (Luke  xi.  49.) 

— OOSTERZEE,    in  loc. 


VER.  1 8.]  Heavenly  Wisdom.  287 

false.  As  the  false,  exhibiting  itself  in  '  envying  and  strife,' 
thus  brings  in  '  confusion  and  every  form  of  evil,'  and  in  this 
way  proves  itself  to  be  from  beneath ;  so  the  true  wisdom, 
showing  itself  in  '  peace '  and  peacemaking,  thus  brings  in 
'righteousness,'  and  proves  itself  to  be  from  above.  '  The 
fruit  of  righteousness,^  then,  you  observe,  does  not  mean  the 
fruit  which  springs  from  righteousness ;  but  '  the  fruit  (true 
wisdom's  fruit)  which  is — consists  in — righteousness  ;'  just  as 
we  read  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  that  'affliction  in 
those  who  are  rightly  exercised  thereby  bears  the  peaceable 
fruit  (of)  righteousness.'  When  James  says  that  'the  fruit 
righteousness  is  soum^  the  expression  is  one  implying  a  lively 
anticipation  of  results ;  as  if  a  man  planting  acorns  were  to 
tell  you  that  he  was  sowing  an  oak  forest,  or  a  farmer  should 
this  spring  be  said  to  sow  next  winter's  bread. 

The  field  in  which  the  seed  is  sown  is  the  human  mind  and 
heart,  immeasurably  the  noblest  and  richest  soil  to  be  found 
on  earth.  The  grandest  created  thing  certainly  must  be  a  soul 
that  can  grasp  the  idea  of  a  Creator,  and  can  love  that  Creator 
as  a  Father.  '  Man,'  says  the  illustrious  Pascal,  '  is  a  feeble 
reed,  trembling  in  the  midst  of  creation ;  but  then  he  is 
endowed  with  thought.  It  does  not  need  the  universe  to  arm 
for  his  destruction.  A  breath  of  wind,  a  drop  of  water,  will 
suffice  to  kill  him.  But  though  the  universe  were  to  fall  on 
man  and  crush  him,  he  would  be  greater  in  his  death  than  the 
universe  in  its  victory;  for  he  would  be  conscious  of  his  defeat, 
and  it  would  not  be  conscious  of  its  triumph '  {Fensees,  xviii. 
11).  A  greater  than  Pascal,  too,  says,  'What  shall  it  profit  a 
man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?'  Yet 
this  glorious  field  has  manifestly  in  great  measure  gone  to 
waste.  The  soul  can  know  and  love  God  ;  it  does  hate  God, 
and  try  to  forget  Him.  The  field  is  not  merely  barren  of  good, 
but  overspread  with  all  noxious  weeds.  In  lands  where  the 
power  of  Christianity  is  wholly  unknown,  cruelty,  impurity,  and 
every  form  of  debasement  and  brutality  are  seen  in  rankest 
luxuriance ;  and  those  awful  descriptions  which  the  Apostle 
Paul  here  and  there  in  his  epistles  gives  us  of  the  paganism  of 


288         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  hi. 

his  day,  are  still  true  to  the  very  letter.  Even  in  a  country 
like  our  own,  where  the  precious  tillage  of  the  great  Husband- 
man has  been  experienced  for  so  many  generations,  where  the 
light  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness  and  the  rain  of  the  Spirit's 
influences  come  down  so  abundantly  and  genially,  how  few 
fields  are  waving  with  golden  grain  !  how  deplorably  many  are 
repulsive  and  noxious  with  the  poison  weeds  of  sensuality, 
greed,  falsehood,  and  heartlessness  !  At  the  first,  man's  heart, 
like  his  surroundings,  was  an  Eden  of  beauty  and  fertility ;  now 
certainly  it  is  by  nature  a  dreary  waste,  full  of  briars  and  thorns. 
We  gather  in  the  field  the  bitter  fruit  of  unrighteousness. 

Now  the  fruit  desired  by  the  sowers  spoken  of  in  the  verse 
before  us  is  ^righteousness.^  This  word  is  evidently  to  be 
taken  here  in  the  sense  which  it  very  often  bears  in  Scripture, 
as  simply  another  term  for  'holiness,'  conformity  of  character 
to  the  will  of  God,  and  this  both  as  regards  our  immediate 
relations  to  God  Himself  and  our  relations  to  our  fellow-men. 
The  fruit  desired  is  that  which  God  made  man  to  bring  forth, 
affections  loose  from  the  vanities  of  earth,  and  set  supremely 
on  God  Himself,  and  on  those  true,  and  lasting,  and  satisfying 
riches  and  glories  which  are  at  His  right  hand,— lives  full  of 
holy  love,  and  energy,  and  patience.  If  this  fruit  is  to  be 
obtained,  it  is  evident  that  special  heavenly  influences  must 
be  brought  into  action  ;  for  the  tendency  of  our  fallen  nature, 
left  to  itself,  is  to  depart  ever  further  from  the  production  of 
good  fruit.  All  the  mere  earthly  influences  of  every  kind, 
material,  intellectual,  and  moral,  that  a  creature  like  man  in  a 
state  of  depravity  could  conceive  of  as  likely  to  give  him  ad- 
vancement, have  in  turn  or  unitedly  been  brought  into  play 
in  the  history  of  the  world ;  and  the  result,  so  far  as  regards 
moral  and  spiritual  elevation,  has  always  been  a  total  failure. 
Wherever  Christ  is  unknown,  the  world  lies  in  wickedness, 
'gross  darkness  covering  the  people;'  and  in  Christian  coun- 
tries, unbelievers  who  live  a  blameless  outward  life,  and  have 
elevated  views  on  moral  subjects,  would  be  obliged  to  acknow- 
ledge, if  they  fairly  thought  the  question  out,  that  these  are 
due  to  the  indirect  influence  on  their  minds  of  Christianity. 


VER.  1 8.]  Heavenly  Wisdom.  289 

The  seed  from  heaven  from  which  '  the  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness '  will  spring,  is  divine  truth.  The  weeds  which  by  nature 
cover  the  field  of  the  human  heart  spring  from  falsehood, 
from  the  belief  of  what  is  not  true  regarding  the  matters  on 
which  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  we  should  know 
and  believe  what  is  true.  The  ultimate  source  in  man,  no 
doubt,  of  evil  affections  and  unholy  living  is  a  perverted  will, 
a  desire  to  please  himself  rather  than  to  obey  God.  But, 
according  to  our  strong  natural  tendency  to  believe  readily 
what  we  want  to  believe,  from  the  desire  to  disobey  God 
there  arise  false  views  regarding  His  character  and  our  rela- 
tions to  Him.  These  false  views  are  the  immediate  cause  of 
sinful  feeling  and  conduct ;  for  we  cannot  conceive  of  a  human 
being  in  his  senses,  if  possessed  of  clear  and  correct  ideas 
respecting  God  and  himself,  defying  the  supreme  Lord  of  the 
universe.  'Wherefore  doth  the  wicked  contemn  God?'  asks 
the  Psalmist ;  and  the  answer  is,  '  Because  he  hath  said  in  his 
heart,  Thou  wilt  not  require  it,' — he  does  not  know,  or  does 
not  believe,  that  God  is  a  God  of  judgment.  'Wherefore 
lieth  he  in  wait  to  catch  the  poor?'  'Because  he  hath  said 
in  his  heart,  God  hath  forgotten,  He  hideth  His  face.  He  will 
never  see  it.'  Moral  evil  being  thus  the  fruit  of  falsehood, 
what  God  gives  to  be  the  seed  of  righteousness  is  truth.  Now 
if  the  field  of  our  hearts  were  clear  from  bad  growths — if  man 
were  merely  in  intellectual  ignorance,  without  a  depravation 
of  his  moral  nature — then  the  communication  of  truth  respect- 
ing God's  relation  to  us  as  Creator  and  Governor  would  be 
sufficient  to  call  forth  love,  and  trust,  and  devotion.  But  for 
fallen  creatures  more  is  needed.  Nothing  but  a  message  of 
mercy  will  suffice  for  us — glad  tidings  of  pardoning  grace — 
awakening  love  through  hope  and  thankfulness.  '  The  gospel 
of  Christ  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that 
believeth;'  and  'righteousness,'  likeness  of  character  to  God, 
is  the  grand  element  of  salvation.  No  man  can  truly  believe 
the  gospel  without  experiencing  to  some  extent  the  'constrain- 
ing '  power  of  Christ's  love,  so  as,  impelled  by  the  mercies  of 
God,  to  be  no  longer  '  conformed  to  this  world,'  but,  in  the 

T 


290         Lechtres  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes,    [ch.  hi. 

measure  of  his  faith,  '  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  his 
mind.' 

As  thus  the  seed  is  from  above,  '  the  glorious  gospel  of  the 
blessed  God,'  so  He  Himself  is  the  Sower.  The  incarnate 
God  tells  us  that  this  is  His  work  :  '  He  that  soweth  the  good 
seed  is  the  Son  of  man.'  He  'began  both  to  do  and  to  teach' 
when  '  He  dwelt  among  us,'  and  He  cames  on  the  work  still. 
But  men  are  His  agents  ;  and  this,  like  all  His  arrangements, 
is  'very  good.'  The  diffusion  of  the  gospel  might  have  been 
effected  by  God's  bringing  it  Himself  in  some  way  immediately 
to  the  knowledge  of  each  of  His  chosen  ones,  without  any 
human  intervention ;  but  we  are  sensible  of  a  peculiarly  win- 
ning power,  a  peculiarly  exquisite  sweetness,  in  the  way  which 
He  has  chosen.  Paul  and  James  and  Peter  call  on  us  to  come 
and  share  in  experiences  which  they  themselves  have  already 
had.  '  Come  and  cast  yourselves  on  Christ,'  they  cry,  '  that  ye 
may  find  rest  to  your  souls.  We,  who  were  labouring  and 
heavy-laden,  as  ye  now  are,  have  cast  our  burdens  on  the  Lord, 
and  entered  thereby  into  blessed  rest — ^joy  unspeakable  and 
full  of  glory.  Come  over  with  us  to  the  happiness  of  the  life 
eternal.'  The  word  of  Christ,  as  preached  to  us  through  the 
epistles  of  these  holy  men,  comes  thus  with  the  wondrous 
power  of  sympathy;  and  the  appeals  of  ministers  or  other 
pleaders  with  souls  have  a  similar  enforcement  to  the  heart. 

The  labour  of  the  spiritual  sower  is  rich  in  blessing,  and 
this  for  himself  no  less  than  for  the  field  into  which  he  casts 
his  seed.  Divine  judgment  gave  labour  as  a  curse  ('  In  the 
sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread '),  but  into  all  labour 
divine  mercy  has  introduced  many  elements  of  blessing.  In 
the  sphere  of  nature,  it  is  good  for  us  that  we  have  to  sow 
before  we  reap.  It  might  have  been  the  divine  arrangement 
that  man's  food  came  to  him  without  labour.  In  the  sunny 
islands  of  the  Pacific  the  case  is  almost  so  ;  and  the  savages 
exult  in  the  spontaneous  abundance, — and  remain  savages,  ex- 
cept new  wants  be  brought  in  that  call  for  labour.  We  have 
cause  to  be  grateful,  then,  that  God  '  gives  bread  to  the  eater,' 
not  immediately,  but  through  'giving  seed  to  the  sower.'     In 


VER.  1 8,]  Heavenly  Wisdom.  291 

the  spiritual  sphere  also,  the  man  who  becomes  'a  fellow- 
labourer  with  God'  feels  how  great  a  privilege  this  is,  and 
blesses  Him  who  has  called  him  to  it ;  for  he  finds  that  the 
work  refreshes  and  invigorates  the  life  of  his  own  soul,  and 
that  as  he  sows  the  seed  of  truth,  which  he  trusts  may  bear 
'  the  fruit  righteousness  '  in  others,  the  harvest  in  his  own  heart 
is  becoming  ever  richer. 

For  the  fruit  of  civilisation  and  social  improvement  many- 
philanthropists  are  sowing  in  the  world,  who  care  little  for 
Christ ;  for  '  righteousness^  according  to  its  grand  idea,  as  James 
has  set  it  forth  elsewhere,  'the  righteousness  of  Goef  (i.  20), 
Christians  alone  sow,  for  they  alone  value  it.  And  all  Chris- 
tians are  sowers,  in  so  far  as  they  understand  the  nature  and 
grandeur  of  their  calling.  Our  appointed  work  is  to  be  the 
'  salt  of  the  earth  ;'  to  '  shine  as  lights  in  the  world,  holding 
forth  the  word  of  life ;'  to  sow  seed  in  the  hearts  of  men  who, 
learning  to  love  the  Saviour,  may  again  in  their  turn  sow. 

Our  apostle  shows  us  the  spirit  in  which  the  wise  sower  of 
the  heavenly  seed  labours.  He  does  his  work  ^  in  peace.^ 
'The  wrath^of  man  worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God,' 
for  it  misrepresents  entirely  the  gospel  of  love  and  good-will ; 
and  thus,  instead  of  furthering  the  progress  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, puts  obstacles  in  its  way.  Would  the  messenger  who 
bears  a  king's  pardon  to  vanquished  rebels,  or  an  assurance  of 
forgiveness  from  a  father  to  a  prodigal  son,  be  likely  to  win 
confidence  for  his  tidings  in  the  suspicious,  alienated  hearts  of 
his  hearers,  by  introducing  himself  with  frowns  and  angry  re- 
proaches ?  Love  is  the  true  spirit  of  a  herald  of  the  God  of 
love.  '  He  is  kind  unto  the  unthankful  and  to  the  evil ;  be  ye 
therefore  merciful,  as  your  Father  also  is  merciful.'  Of  the 
great  Messenger  of  God  it  was  foretold  by  Isaiah,  '  He  shall 
not  strive  nor  cry,  neither  shall  any  man  hear  His  voice  in  the 
streets;  a  bruised  reed  shall  He  not  break,  and  smoking  flax 
shall  He  not  quench;  and  in  His  name' — the  name  of  such  a 
Saviour  as  this — '  shall  the  Gentiles  trust.'  It  may  at  times 
be  needful,  in  love,  to  proclaim  '  the  terrors  of  the  Lord : ' 
Christ  did  it,  and  His  apostles;  but  this  must  always  mani- 


292    Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,  [ch.  hi.  18. 

festly  be  in  love,  and  by  way  of  exception ;  and  the  rule  for 
those  who  would  be  successful  sowers  must  certainly  be, 
'gracious  words'  from  a  gracious  soul. 

The  work  of  the  spiritual  sowing  James  describes  as  '  makifig- 
peace^ — striving  by  consistent  example,  kindly  counsel,  help  of 
every  kind,  to  promote  true  peace  and  love  in  all  upon  whom 
in  any  way  we  can  bring  influence  to  bear.  Now,  the  only 
trustworthy  basis  of  peace  is  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  ac- 
cepted by  faith ;  and  therefore  all  who  aim  wisely  at  the 
increase  of  peace,  strive  to  gain  their  end  by  leading  men 
to  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  'to  ever  deeper  impressions 
of  the  sweetness  and  beauty  of  His  truth.  The  Christian's 
supreme  desire  and  persistent  effort,  according  to  the  liveli- 
ness and  intelligence  of  his  faith,  is  to  extend  that  kingdom 
which  was  inaugurated  with  the  song  of  the  angels,  *  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  toward  men.' 
From  the  seed  of  the  'gospel  of  peace,'  sown  'in  peace,'  the 
'  fruit  of  righteousness '  will  spring. 


CH.  IV.  1-3.]  Origin  of  Strifes.  293 


XX. 
ORIGIN    OF   STRIFES. 

'  From  whence  come  wars  and  fightings  among  you  ?  Come  they  not  hence, 
even  of  your  lusts  that  war  in  your  members  ?  2  Ye  lust,  and  have 
not  :  ye  kill,  and  desire  to  have,  and  cannot  obtain  :  ye  fight  and  war, 
yet  ye  have  not,  because  ye  ask  not.  3  Ye  ask,  and  receive  not,  be- 
cause ye  ask  amiss,  that  ye  may  consume  it  upon  your  lusts.' — ^James 
IV.  1-3. 

EVERY  reader  must  feel  the  power  of  the  apostle's  sudden 
transition  from  the  beautiful  picture  of  the  Christian 
life  as  it  should  be, '  sowing  in  peace  the  fruit  of  righteousness,' 
to  the  sketch  of  the  church  as  it  actually  was  in  many  places, 
a  community  full  of  turbulence,  disgraced  by  '  wars  and  fight- 
ings.' ^  The  scene  exhibited  to  us  by  the  apostle's  words  is  so 
dark,  that  at  first  doubt  naturally  rises  whether  his  reference  is 
to  Christians,  and  not  rather  to  unbelieving  Jews.  But  the 
context  proves  that,  according  to  all  natural  interpretation,  we 
must  hold  professing  Christians  to  be  spoken  of.  What  is 
described  here  is  but  a  fuller  development  of  the  wicked  spirit 
described  in  the  tenth  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter,  which 
out  of  the  same  mouth  sent  forth  cursing  as  well  as  blessing ; 
and  there  the  persons  guilty  of  this  sin  are  expressly  named 
'  brethren.'  In  the  paragraph  which  is  introduced  by  the 
verses  now  before  us,  too,  those  addressed  are  designated  in 
the  fourth  verse  as  spiritually  '  adulterous,'  and  in  the  eighth  as 
'  double-minded,' — terms  implying  that  these  persons  professed 
to  love  God,  and  to  be  wedded  to  Him ;  and  in  the  eleventh 
verse  we  have  the  name  'brethren,'  without  the  slightest  in- 
dication that  those  so  addressed  are  different  from  the  persons 
reproved  and  pleaded  with  in  the  earlier  paragraph. 

We  are  very  apt  to  misconceive  considerably  the  character  of 


294         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

the  primitive  church,  through  a  vague  impression  that  the  exqui- 
site outflow  of  Christian  love  at  Jerusalem,  of  which  the  early 
chapters  of  Acts  tell  us,  lasted  all  through  the  first  ages,  and  had 
its  counterpart  in  every  congregation.  A  study  of  the  Epistles 
is  fitted  to  give  us  a  different  idea.  Much  holy  beauty  there 
was,  doubtless  ;  but  also  not  a  little  defect  and  defilement.  '  I 
fear,'  says  Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  'lest,  when  I  come,  I  shall 
not  find  you  such  as  I  would,  and  that  I  shall  be  found  unto 
you  such  as  ye  would  not ;  lest  there  be  debates,  envyings, 
wraths,  strifes,  backbitings,  whisperings,  swellings,  tumults  ;  and 
lest,  when  I  come  again,  my  God  will  humble  me  among  you, 
and  that  I  shall  bewail  many  which  have  sinned  already,  and 
have  not  repented  of  the  uncleanness,  and  fornication,  and 
lasciviousness,  which  they  have  committed.'  Christians,  in 
truth,  are  always  in  much  hazard  of  falling  back  to  some  extent 
into  the  sins  which  more  especially  beset  them  before  conver- 
sion ;  and  this  particularly  when  they  are  surrounded  by  those 
who  indulge  in  these  sins.  To  missionaries,  labouring  either 
among  the  heathen  or  among  those  in  Christian  lands  who  are 
'ignorant  and  out  of  the  way,'  this  tendency  in  their  converts 
causes  great  and  constant  anxiety,  and  necessitates  constant 
watchfulness  over  them.  For  an  Asiatic,  for  example,  living 
among  those  who  scarcely  feel  at  all  that  truth  is  morally  pre- 
ferable to  falsehood,  it  is  extremely  difficult,  even  when  he  is 
brought  under  the  power  of  the  gospel,  to  become  thoroughly 
truthful  and  straightforward, — the  tendency  to  revert  to  the  old 
type  frequently  asserting  its  power.  Now  the  Jews  as  a  people 
were  very  prone  to  violent  language,  as  indeed  has  been  the  case 
with  all  the  races  of  south-western  Asia  in  all  ages  ;  and  during 
the  half-century  preceding  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  particu- 
larly the  latter  part  of  it,  there  was  great  political  excitement 
and  turbulence  among  them.  The  atmosphere  in  which  James's 
readers  lived,  therefore,  was  highly  charged  with  the  spirit  of 
strife  ;  and  thus  one  can  easily  believe  that  in  many  of  the 
Christian  congregations  of  '  the  Dispersion  '  there  were  painful 
dissensions  between  individuals,  or  between  factions,  occasion- 
ally leading  to  outbreaks  of  passion  of  the  grossest  kind.     The 


VER. 


I.]  0 1^1  gin  of  Strifes.  295 


history  of  the  church  in  all  times  and  countries  can  show  too 
many  illustrations  of  the  working  of  the  same  evil  tendencies, 
not  unfrequently  bringing  about  actual  wars.  For  a  century 
and  a  half  after  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation,  almost  every 
war  in  Europe,  whether  civil  or  international,  was  partly  due, 
and  many  were  due  almost  solely,  to  differences  of  view  re- 
garding religion. 

Our  apostle's  words  assume  the  existence  of  '  luars  and  fight- 
ings '  among  his  readers,  and  that  in  some  instances  they  were 
fierce  enough  to  be  very  notorious.  It  is  possible,  indeed 
probable,  considering  how  quick  the  Western  Asiatics  have 
been  in  every  age  to  follow  up  violence  of  language  with 
violence  of  hand,  that  James  had  knowledge  of  cases  in  which 
there  had  been  actual  physical  struggles ;  but,  whilst  including 
these,  his  words  are  obviously  meant  as  a  startling  and  impres- 
sive description  of  all  kinds  of  dissension.  Similarly,  Paul 
enjoins  upon  Timothy  (2  Tim.  ii.  23)  to  'avoid  foolish  and 
unlearned  questions,  knowing  that  they  do  gender  strifes''  {the 
same  word  which  is  rendered  in  the  verse  before  us  by  '  fight- 
ings ').  By  '  wars '  the  apostle  means  plainly  the  general  con- 
dition of  hostility,  and  by  '■fightings^  the  particular  outbreaks 
of  hostile  feeling.  The  immediate  causes  of  the  quarrels  were 
in  all  likelihood  various.  Some,  perhaps,  sprang  from  the 
virulence  of  rival  teachers,  assailing  each  other  with  bitterness 
like  that  exhibited  to  Paul  by  his  Judaizing  opponents ;  others 
from  the  keen  partisanship  of  the  followers  of  diff'erent  teachers, 
who  might  themselves  be  friends,  as  at  Corinth  one  said,  '  I 
am  of  Paul,'  and  another,  '  I  am  of  ApoUos  ;'  but  what  is  said 
in  the  second  and  third  verses  appears  to  show  that  James  had 
mainly  in  his  mind  disputes  connected  with  efforts  for  worldly 
advancement.  It  seems  not  unlikely,  when  we  remember  the 
low  and  carnal  conceptions  of  the  nature  of  the  Messianic 
kingdom  which  had  taken  possession  of  the  Jews  universally, 
that  something  of  this  evil  leaven  wrought  still  even  among 
the  converts  to  Christianity,  and  that  thus,  here  and  there, 
among  the  poorer  members  of  the  churches,  there  was  discon- 
tent with  their  position,  as  being  unsuitable  for  the  friends  of 


296         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.     [ch.  iv. 

Messiah  the  Prince,  and  consequent  murmuring  both  against 
God  and  against  their  weaUhier  brethren.  In  many  ways, 
indeed,  in  all  the  Christian  communities,  whether  Jewish  or 
Gentile,  jealousies  might  easily  arise  between  the  rich  and  the 
poor, — as  they  do  still. 

'Wars  and  fightings,'  jealousies  and  animosities,  were  not 
confined  to  the  primitive  church.  They  are  painfiiUy  familiar 
to  us  still.  Men  and  women  who  on  the  Sabbath  have  sat 
side  by  side  at  the  Lord's  table,  and  drunk  of  the  common  cup 
of  love,  will  scowl  at  and  calumniate  and  thwart  each  other 
all  the  week.  And  the  feeling  between  congregations  or  de- 
nominations, which  are  but  diiferent  companies  or  brigades  in 
the  army  of  the  Captain  of  salvation,  is  not  unfrequently  such 
as  to  remind  one  of  the  host  of  Midian  in  the  night  of  Gideon's 
victory,  when  '  every  man's  sword  was  turned  against  his  fellow, 
throughout  all  the  host.' 

'  Whence^  then,  are  these  unseemly  strifes  ?  the  apostle  asks. 
He  would  have  his  readers  consider  the  radical  principles  of 
their  procedure.  Men  often  slide  or  drift  imperceptibly  into 
positions  that  are  productive  of  much  harm  to  themselves  and 
others;  and  it  is  wise,  therefore,  to  stop  and  turn  aside  for 
a  little  from  the  excitements  and  distractions  of  our  social 
life,  and  ask  ourselves  whence  and  whither  are  our  moral 
movements. 

James  answers  the  question  himself.  Had  he  asked  the 
quarrelling  Christians,  he  would  have  been  told,  no  doubt,  that 
their  being  involved  in  strife  was  due  to  *  circumstances,'  to 
'provocations,'  to  'the  need  of  asserting  their  rights.'  The 
apostle  tears  off"  the  veil  of  plausibilities,  and  shows  them,  as 
the  real  originators  of  the  dissensions,  the  '  hists '  of  their  de- 
praved hearts,  especially  greed  of  wealth,  and  greed  of  pro- 
minence and  influence.  The  apostles  have  had  many  succes- 
sors in  the  church,  so  far  as  regards  their  discreditable  striving 
with  each  other,  in  the  early  stages  of  their  Christian  life, 
which  of  them  should  be  the  greatest.  The  race  of  Diotrephes, 
Avho  troubled  the  churches  of  Asia,  because  he  '  loved  to  have 
the  pre-eminence,'  is  by  no  means  extinct.     Ambition,  avarice, 


VER.  I.]  Origin  of  Strifes.  297 

and  sister  lusts,  are  the  true  root  of  all  wars — of  all  disputes 
that  become  envenomed.  The  world  without  presents  the 
temptation  ;  but  the  power  of  the  temptation  is  from  within, 
from  the  deceitfulness  and  wickedness  of  the  heart.  *  Let  no 
man  say,  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God ;  for  God 
cannot  be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  He  any  man. 
But  every  man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own 
lust  and  enticed.  Then,  when  lust  hath  conceived,  it  bringeth 
forth  sin.' 

These  lusts  are  '■in  the  members'' — standing  in  various  ways 
in  close  connection  with  the  animal  nature.  Hence  Paul 
says,  '  Let  not  sin  reign  in  your  mortal  body,  that  ye  should 
obey  it  in  the  lusts  thereof;  neither  yield  ye  your  members 
as  instruments  of  unrighteousness  unto  sin ;  but  yield  your- 
selves unto  God,  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the  dead,  and 
your  members  as  instruments  of  righteousness  unto  God.' 
'  In  the  members,'  too,  'the  lusts  war^  or  'campaign.'  In  all 
men  by  nature  there  is  struggle, — the  perverse  will  striving 
with  the  conscience,  the  '  fleshly  lusts '  quelling  spiritual  aspi- 
rations and  yearnings,  and  thus  in  the  fullest  sense  '  warring 
against  the  soul.'  The  lusts  'war'  among  themselves  also;  for 
everywhere,  and  in  every  respect,  Satan  proves  himself  the 
author,  not  of  peace,  but  of  confusion  :  and  thus  we  often  see 
contradictory  lusts,  such  as  covetousness  and  prodigality,  co- 
existing in  a  man,  and  leading  to  strange  confusions  of  life. 
In  a  Christian  soul  the  lusts  '  war '  with  the  impulses  of  the 
new  life.  'The  old  man,  which  is  corrupt  according  to  the 
deceitful  lusts,'  contends  with  '  the  new  man,  which  after  God 
is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness.'  'I  delight  in 
the  law  of  God  after  the  inward  man,  but  I  see  another  law 
in  my  members  warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind.'  The 
thought,  however,  exhibited  by  James  here  seems  to  have 
reference,  not  to  the  war  which  is  waged  in  the  individual 
soul,  but  to  a  conflict  of  the  desires  or  lusts  of  different  per- 
sons— those  lusts  which  'campaign'  in  the  animal  nature  of 
each.  The  lusts  of  these  different  persons,  or  companies  of 
persons,  are  directed  towards  the  same  object,  one  particular 


298         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  0/  yames.     [ch.  iv. 

position  of  dignity  and  influence,  perhaps,  or  the  acquisition 
of  wealth  in  one  particular  way ;  and  hence  comes  collision. 
The  'campaigning'  of  the  lusts  with  a  view  to  a  common 
object  naturally  leads  to  outward  opposition,  just  as,  if  two 
kings  both  covet  a  hitherto  independent  territory  that  lies 
between  their  dominions,  and  simultaneously  lead  their  armies 
into  it  to  take  possession,  the  matter  will  have  to  be  decided 
by  a  battle. 

In  the  second  verse  the  answer  to  the  question,  '  Whence 
come  the  wars  and  fightings?'  is  given  more  fully,  in  away 
very  similar  to  that  in  which  the  apostle  has,  in  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  verses  of  the  first  chapter,  described  the  genesis 
of  sin  and  of  death.  The  general  answer  already  given  is, 
'From  your  lusts;'  now,  in  detail,  '  Ye  lust,  and  have  not :  ye 
kill,  and  desire  to  have,  and  cannot  obtain;  ye  fight  and  war.'' 

The  first  step  is  longing,  without  satisfaction :  '  Ye  lust,  and 
have  not.''  Desire  for  some  particular  worldly  enjoyment  enters 
men's  hearts, — and  they  find  that  possession  does  not  imme- 
diately come  with  the  desire.  What,  then,  naturally  follows, 
unless  through  faith  the  spirit  of  love  and  true  wisdom  reign 
in  the  soul  ?  '  Ye  kill,  and  desire  to  have,  and  cannot  obtain' 
The  word  rendered  'desire  to  have,'  whilst  it  has  "sometimes 
the  meaning  of  '  to  wish  eagerly  for,'  and  thus  is  rightly  trans- 
lated, for  example,  by  '  covet  earnestly '  in  '  covet  earnestly 
the  best  gifts'  (i  Cor.  xii.  31),  yet  in  other  places  signifies  the 
base  passion  of  envy,  as  when  we  are  told  that  '  charity  envieth 
not'  (i  Cor.  xiii.  4).  The  course  of  thought  in  the  verse 
before  us  shows  clearly  that  the  word  is  employed  here  in  its 
bad  sense,  for  otherwise  there  would  be  no  advance  at  all  from 
the  feeling  spoken  of  in  the  first  stage,  '  Ye  lust.'  The  sense, 
then,  is,  'Ye  kill,  and  envy,  and  cannot  obtain.'  The  'kill' 
startles  every  reader, — as  no  doubt  it  was  intended  to  do. 
When  we  bear  in  mind  the  Jewish  temperament,  and  the 
exciting  circumstances  in  which,  as  already  mentioned,  the 
nation  was  placed  at  this  time,  and  remember  how  often  in 
the  history  of  the  church  the  hands  of  professed  followers  of 
Christ  have  been  stained  with  bloodshed,  and  this  indeed  not 


VER.  2.]  Origin  of  Strifes.  299 

seldom  in  the  name  of  Christ's  sacred  cause, — it  will  be  felt  by 
us  as  not  at  all  improbable  that,  in  some  of  the  quarrels  to 
which  the  apostle  refers,  actual  slaughter  of  opponents  had 
been  committed  in  the  heat  of  passion.  On  such  a  supposi- 
tion, his  word  '■  kiir  would  come  home  to  his  readers  with  more 
naturalness  and  force  than  otherwise.  But  considering  the 
nature  of  Christianity,  and  the  little  inducement  that  there  was 
in  those  early  days  for  other  than  true  believers  to  connect 
themselves  with  the  church,  it  is  utterly  inconceivable  that 
'  killing '  in  the  literal  sense  was  anything  but  altogether 
exceptional,  or  that  the  apostle  means  to  charge  his  readers 
generally  with  such  a'  crime.  A  glance  at  his  words,  indeed, 
shows  that  actual  murder  was  certainly  not  mainly,  if  at  all,  in 
his  mind ;  for  if  it  had  been,  he  could  never  have  followed  up 
such  a  charge  with  'ye  envy,'  which  Avould  in  this  case  be  a 
thought  immeasurably  less  impressive,  and  thus  constitute  a 
feeble  and  ineffective  anti-climax.  By  '/'///'  he  means,  no 
doubt,  cherishing  that  deep  hatred  of  which,  under  the  temp- 
tation of  opportunity,  literal  murder  is  the  natural  manifestation, 
and  which  is  therefore  murder  in  heart.  '  Whosoever  hateth 
his  brother  is  a  murderer^  says  the  Apostle  John ;  and  the 
same  is  the  teaching  of  the  Lord  Himself  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  ]\Iount :  '  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old 
time.  Thou  shalt  not  kill,  and  whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be  in 
danger  of  the  judgment ;  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  whosoever  is 
angry  with  his  brother  without  a  cause,  shall  be  in  danger  of 
the  judgment.'  Every  attentive  reader  of  this  Epistle  observes 
the  frequency  with  which  it  echoes  the  thoughts  and  the 
language  of  that  great  Sermon, — a  discourse  that  had  evidently 
made  the  deepest  impression  on  James's  mind ;  and  the  case 
before  us  is  one  among  the  many  illustrations  of  this.  The 
use  of  the  word  'kill,'  as  I  have  said,  certainly  startles,  and 
was  meant  to  startle.  The  apostle  desired  to  lead  men  who 
were  at  ease  in  the  indulgence  of  sins  of  the  heart,  and  who 
perhaps  threw  up  their  hands  in  horror  when  they  heard  of 
any  literal  murder,  to  bethink  themselves  in  what  position 
they  really  stood  before  the  eye  of  God.     We  see  throughout 


300         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.     [ch.  iv. 

the  whole  Epistle  his  love  of  terse,  telling  language ;  and  in  the 
immediate  context,  with  its  '  wars  and  fightings,'  and  its  '  ye 
adulteresses,'  this  is  very  specially  exemplified.  Thus  the  '  kill 
(in  heart)'  is  introduced  here  by  no  means  unnaturally,  and 
has  its  meaning  lighted  up  to  an  attentive  reader  by  its  sur- 
roundings. 

From  unsatisfied  lust,  then,  sprang  murderous  hatred  and 
envy.  The  two  do  not  form  a  climax,  but  are  co-ordinate; 
and  each  illustrates  the  other,  and  the  general  state  of  heart, — 
a  state  of  intense  longing  and  intense  bitterness. 

But  no  intensity  of  feeling  can  ensure  satisfaction ;  and  so 
we  find  it  here  :  '  and  cannot  obtain^  In  His  providence,  God 
in  righteous  anger  withholds  the  coveted  object ;  or  even  if  it 
be  received,  the  anticipated  enjoyment  is  wanting.  For,  in 
truth,  intense  feeling  of  the  kinds  here  described  not  merely 
cannot  ensure  satisfaction,  but  from  its  nature  ensures  on  any 
issue  dissatisfaction.  The  lusts,  like  '  the  daughters  of  the 
horse-leech,'  still  cry,  '  Give,  give ;'  for  envy  '  enlargeth  her 
desire  as  hell,  and  is  as  death,  and  cannot  be  satisfied.' 

We  come  now  to  the  last  stage  in  the  genesis  of  the  '  wars 
and  fightings.'  The  first  was  'lust,'  conjoined  with  want;  the 
second,  hate  and  envy,  still  conjoined  with  want :  from  this 
immediately,  and  by  most  manifest  sequence,  come  '  wars  and 
fightings.'  Thus  the  question  '  whence  ?'  is  fully  answered  :  '  Ye 
lust — ye  hate  murderously^  and  envy — ye  fight  and  war^ — this 
is  in  brief  the  natural  history  of  all  envenomed  dissension. 

In  the  text  of  this  passage,  as  found  in  all  the  oldest 
manuscripts,  there  is  no  particle  connecting  the  words  that 
follow  with  those  which  we  have  just  been  considering.  The 
^ yet^  of  our  translators  must  therefore  be  omitted,  and  a  new 
sentence  begun  with  '  Ye  have  not.'  The  beauty  of  the  struc- 
ture of  the  passage  now  shows  itself.  Having  closed  the  series 
of  statements  exhibiting  the  real  origin  and  growth  of  strife, 
James  goes  back  to  the  sense  of  luant  which  he  had  spoken 
of  as  an  active  element  in  all  the  stages,  and  sets  forth  clearly 
the  cause  of  the  want,  and  the  means  of  obtaining  all  needed 
supplies.     This  exposition  falls  into  a  series  of  two  members, 


VER.  2.]  Origin  of  Strifes.  301 

which  do  not,  however,  as  in  the  case  of  the  previous  series, 
form  a  gradation,  but  stand  side  by  side  as  alternative  ex- 
jDlanations,  appHcable  to  different  persons,  or  to  the  same 
person  under  different  circumstances  :  '  Ye  have  not,  because  ye 
ask  7iot :  ye  ask,  and  receive  not,  because  ye  ask  amiss,  that  ye  may 
consume  it  upon  your  lusts.^ 

When  James  says,  '  Ye  have  not,  because  ye  ask  not^  we  can 
hardly  fail  to  recognise  an  allusion  to  the  teaching  of  Christ  in 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  He  seems  to  appeal  to  his  readers 
to  'remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  He  said,  Ask, 
and  it  shall  be  given  you ;  for  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth.' 
We  cannot  suppose  that  the  apostle,  by  his  ^ ye  ask  noV  here, 
means  to  charge  them  with  being  utterly  prayerless,  for  this 
would  be  to  declare  all  of  whom  he  speaks  to  be  mere  empty 
pretenders  to  Christianity, — not  misguided  Christians  simply, 
but  utter  hypocrites  or  self-deceivers.  The  force  of  his  words 
seems  to  be  limited  by  the  connection  in  which  they  occur  to 
an  assertion  that,  in  regard  to  their  worldly  circumstajices  and 
wants,  many  of  his  readers  did  not  ask  God ;  otherwise  the 
discontent  and  restlessness  which  generated  the  dissensions  he 
has  been  speaking  of  would  have  been  removed  :  '  for  there  is 
no  want  to  them  that  fear  Him.'  Many  Christians — all  Chris- 
tians probably  to  some  extent — shrink  from  prayer  respecting 
outward  necessities.  Our  spiritual  wants  we  carry  to  the  throne 
of  grace ;  but  in  the  cares  of  this  world,  in  the  disappointment 
of  cherished  hopes,  the  thwarting  of  carefully  devised  plans,  the 
anxieties  of  narrow  income,  we  too  frequently  nurse  our  de- 
pression, instead  of  laying  the  matter  before  God.  Now,  can 
we  trust  Him  with  our  eternal  welfare,  and  not  with  the  in- 
terests of  earth  ?  Can  we  depend  upon  Him  for  the  everlast- 
ing life,  and  not  for  the  care  of  the  life  here  ?  '  Consider  the 
lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow  ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 
spin :  and  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon,  in  all  his 
glory,  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  Wherefore,  if  God 
so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow 
is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  He  not  much  more  clothe  you,  O 
ye  of  little  faith?'     '  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven,  give  us 


302         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  iv. 

this  day  our  daily  bread.'  Look  not  for  supernatural  mani- 
festations in  answer  to  prayer — for  manna  or  quails,  for  visible 
angelic  visitors,  or  obvious  and  direct  inspirations  ;  but  cer- 
tainly we  have  every  ground  to  believe  that,  in  regard  to  the 
outward  as  well  as  the  inner  life,  '  the  fervent  prayer  of  a 
righteous  man  availeth  much,'  and»will  bring  down  showers 
of  blessing,  in  views  cleared,  external  obstacles  removed,  and 
wishes  accomplished,  so  far  as  it  shall  serve  for  God's  glory 
and  the  true  good  of  the  petitioner.  Whatever  interests  God's 
people,  interests  Him.  Defective  apprehension  of  this  truth 
was  the  cause  of  the  want  felt  by  James's  readers.  Had  they 
prayed,  they  would  have  received  what  they  desired,  if  it  was 
good  for  them  ;  and  certainly  the  feeling  of  want  and  discon- 
tent would  have  been  removed,  for  the  heart  would  have  had 
rest  in  God's  Fatherly  love. 

But  some  might  say,  '  We  have  asked  God,  and  still  we  are 
in  want.'  To  these  the  apostle  replies  that  the  solution  of  this 
difficulty  is  not  far  to  seek.  Their  supplications  had  lacked 
one  essential  element  of  true  prayer — desire  to  consecrate  all 
God's  gifts  to  His  glory :  '  Ye  ask,  and  receive  not,  beca7i.se  ye 
ask  amiss '  (or  '  wickedly '),  '  f/iat  ye  may  consume  it  npon  your 
lusts.''  It  is  a  distinctive  characteristic  of  the  true  Christian, 
that  in  his  thoughts  and  feelings  he  subordinates  the  temporal 
to  the  spiritual.  The  ideal  of  the  Christian  life  is  to  be  able 
to  say  with  full  truthfulness,  '  For  me  to  live  is  Christ,' — to 
have  always  such  a  constant  and  influential  sense  of  the  truth 
that  in  the  manifestation  of  God's  glory  is  summed  up  all  good 
for  His  creatures,  as  leads  us  in  the  discharge  even  of  the  com- 
monest duties  of  life,  in  '  eating  and  drinking,  and  whatsoever 
we  do,'  to  '  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God.'  A  Christian  prayer, 
then,  in  regard  to  worldly  things,  is  one  that  comes  from  a 
heart  prepared  to  dedicate  to  God  what  is  asked  from  God, — 
a  prayer  in  which  entreaty  that  our  heavenly  Father  will  give 
us  grace  to  do  this  with  His  gift,  is  associated  with  the  suppli- 
cation for  the  gift.  Such  prayer  is  answered.  When  we  '  seek 
Jirst  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  all  these 
things  shall  be  added  unto  us.'     But  where  a  petition  is  sent 


VER.  3.]  Origin  of  Strifes.  303 

up  with  no  thought  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  no  longing  for  the 
advancement  of  His  glory  through  the  increase  of  the  holiness 
and  happiness  of  our  fellow-men,  but  simply  with  a  view  to 
self-gratification,  to  the  '  consuming '  of  what  we  ask  for  '  upon 
our  lusts;'  such  a  petition  will  obtain  no  boon.  'If  I  regard 
iniquity  in  my  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear  me.'  Or  the  gift 
craved  may  be  bestowed,  but  no  blessing  with  it, — given  in 
judgment,  not  in  mercy;  as,  when  Israel  'lusted  exceedingly  in 
the  wilderness,  and  tempted  God,  He  gave  tJiem  their  request^ 
but  sent  leanness  into  their  soid^ 


304         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  iv. 


XXI. 
WORLDLINESS  ENMITY  TO  GOD. 

'  Ye  adulterers  and  adulteresses,  know  ye  not  that  the  friendship  of  the 
world  is  enmity  with  God  ?  Whosoever  therefore  will  be  a  friend  of 
the  world,  is  the  enemy  of  God.  5  Do  ye  think  that  the  Scripture 
saith  in  vain,  The  spirit  that  dwelleth  in  us  lusteth  to  envy  ?  6  But 
He  giveth  more  grace  :  wherefore  He  saith,  God  resisteth  the  proud, 
but  giveth  grace  unto  the  humble.' — ^James  iv.  4-6. 

THE  Statements  and  appeals  contained  in  these  verses 
follow  up  the  remarks  in  the  verses  immediately  preced- 
ing. By  '  the  world''  here  James  means  obviously,  according 
to  a  very  frequent  use  of  the  word  in  the  language  of  Jesus 
and  the  apostles,  man  and  his  institutions  and  surroundings 
considered  as  penetrated  and  controlled  by  malignant  moral 
influences.  God  made  the  world  '  very  good,'  with  beauty  and 
harmony  everywhere.  All  things  around  contributed  to  man's 
rational  happiness,  ever  sending  up  his  thoughts  and  his  affec- 
tions in  admiration  and  love  to  the  great  Creator ;  so  that  he, 
in  the  sublimity  of  reason  and  free-will  the  lord  of  the  crea- 
tures, led  the  chorus  of  the  world's  praise.  But  sin,  alluring 
his  heart  from  his  heavenly  Father,  brought  in  jarring  and 
discord.  The  devil  became  'the  prince  of  this  world,'  and 
what  God  had  made  order  he  made  chaos.  The  world  was 
now  enveloped  in  a  distorting  and  misleading  atmosphere  of 
falsehood.  All  things  presented  themselves  to  man's  mind 
and  heart  in  untrue  dimensions  and  relations;  and  instead 
of  drawing  him  towards  God,  and  leading  him  into  '  the  land 
of  uprightness,'  guided  him  further  away  into  the  '  far  country ' 
of  wickedness  and  death.  Thus  now  God,  and  the  world 
which  He  created,  are  morally  in  opposition  to  each  other. 
Our  apostle,  then,  makes  a  statement  concerning  Uhe  friend- 


VER.  4.]        Wo7'ldliness  Enmity  to  God.  305 

sJiip  of  (or  "  with  ")  the  world,'  as  thus  understood.  Experience 
shows  that  there  is  considerable  possibiHty  of  mistake  as  to 
what  is  meant  by  this  'friendship.'  One  form  of  error,  for 
example,  is  what  may  be  called  the  monkish.  Seeing  that 
we  reckon  those  to  be  friendly  whom  we  often  see  by  choice 
in  each  other's  company,  the  monk  concludes  that,  if  not  the 
only,  at  least  the  highest,  form  of  a  life  that  aims  to  escape 
'  friendship  with  the  world,'  is  one  of  retirement,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, from  intercourse  with  it — one  that  shuns  all  association 
with  the  accursed  thing.  This  has  'a  show  of  wisdom;'  and, 
beyond  doubt,  here  and  there,  perhaps  in  many  places,  the 
flower  of  true  piety  has  bloomed  very  beautifully  in  the  garden 
of  a  monastery.  Yet  this  type  of  rehgious  life  is  essentially 
morbid.  It  might  almost  be  described  as  baptized  selfishness, 
for  it  proceeds  on  the  view  that  a  man's  religion  is  to  be  a 
self-contained  thing,  having  no  ends  or  influences  beyond  his 
own  personal  growth  in  spirituality :  whilst  the  constant  teach- 
ing of  Scripture  is,  that  we  are  to  '  let  our  light  shine  before 
men,  that  they,  seeing  our  good  works,  may  glorify  our  Father 
which  is  in  heaven,'  and  that  we  are  to  'hold  forth  the  word 
of  life '  as  well  as  hold  it  fast.  This  can  be  done,  in  all  ordi- 
nary circumstances,  only  by  a  life  in  the  world,  but  under  the 
government  of  a  faith  which  plainly  soars  above  the  world. 
The  great  High  Priest's  supplication  for  His  people  was,  '  I 
pray  not  that  Thou  shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but 
that  Thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil.'  The  tendency 
of  monkery  is  to  utter  uselessness ;  and  naturally  the  energies 
of  the  monks  themselves  grow  dull,  and  all  the  good  that  may 
be  in  them  rusts  from  want  of  e^iercise.  There  have  been 
monks  in  the  famous  monastery  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai  for 
some  fourteen  hundred  years,  and  not  the  slightest  approach  to 
missionary  effort  among  the  darkened  tribes  around  seems  ever 
to  have  been  put  forth.  Nay,  the  descendants  of  some  hundreds 
of  professed  Christians,  who  in  the  early  ages  were  given  to  be 
servants  of  the  monks,  have  been  so  neglected  religiously  as 
to  lapse  into  INIohammedanism ;  whilst  the  monks  themselves 
are  described   by  travellers  as   having  countenances   deeply 

u 


3o6         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

marked  with  melancholy,  and  singularly  destitute  of  intellec- 
tual expression.  This  is  the  legitimate  working  of  the  system, 
for  the  want  of  a  free  natural  life  amidst  their  fellow-creatures 
has  a  most  debasing  and  narrowing  influence.  Now,  brethren, 
although  we  from  our  training  and  circumstances  have  no 
temptation  to  become  monks,  yet  we  must  remember  that  this 
is  but  the  extreme  form  of  a  tendency  which  under  a  diseased 
state  of  feeling  may  obtain  some  dominion  over  us, — the  ten- 
dency to  shrink  from  a  free  and  energetic  outward  life,  and  to 
brood  in  indolent  solitude  on  our  spiritual  condition.  Our 
Master  ever  and  anon  retired  to  the  wilderness  and  to  lonely 
mountain-sides,  to  commune  with  His  Father,  and  receive 
strength  for  labour;  but  His  life  was  pre-eminently  one  spent 
in  the  world,  in  constant  and  close  contact  with  men.  '  Friend- 
ship with  the  world,'  then,  does  not  mean  simple  presence  in 
the  midst  of  the  activities  of  the  world,  and  taking  part  in  its 
work. 

Another  error  on  this  subject,  by  way  of  defect,  to  which  in 
our  time  professing  Christians  are  much  more  liable  than  that 
we  have  now  been  speaking  of,  is  the  belief  that  '  friendship 
with  the  world,'  or  conformity  to  the  world,  is  shown  only  in 
attending  balls,  card-parties,  theatres,  and  the  like  ;  so  that 
among  those  who  shun  these  scenes  there  is  necessarily  no- 
thing of  what  the  apostle  here  condemns.  Now,  no  thoughtful 
Christian,  as  it  seems  to  me,  can  doubt  for  a  moment  that  there 
is  some  hazard  to  spiritual  life,  and  to  influence  for  good,  in 
even  occasional  visits  to  scenes  of  mere  frivolous  excitement  and 
amusement,  and  that  the  habitual  or  frequent  resort  to  them 
shows  concentrated  and  deplorable  worldliness, — involving, 
as  such  conduct  does,  much  waste  of  precious  time,  an  outlay 
of  money  wholly  inconsistent  with  adherence  to  the  Scripture 
principle  of  stewardship  for  God,  and  much  social  intercourse 
of  a  spiritually  debasing  kind.  But  'friendship  for  the  world' 
may  exist,  and  even  rule,  apart  from  any  indulgences  like  these, 
and  in  connection  with  a  most  quiet  and  decorous  life ;  for 
worldliness  is  the  spirit  of  a  life,  not  its  outward  form,  and 
may  be  in  full  activity  as  the  spirit,  where  the  body  of  the  life 


VER.  4.]         Worldlhiess  E^imity  to  God.  307 

has  been  moulded  by  the  pressure  of  education  and  circum- 
stances into  a  form  which  one  might  expect  to  find  inhabited 
by  a  spirit  of  heavenly-mindedness. 

The  question  then,  you  observe,  is  strictly  one  in  regard  to 
the  state  of  the  affections.  Friendship  implies  substantial 
accordance  of  opinion  and  of  aims.  *  Two  cannot  walk  to- 
gether ' — that  is,  be  intimate  friends — '  except  they  be  agreed  ' 
in  their  views  on  all  matters  which  they  deem  of  primary  im- 
portance. Now  the  unregenerate  world  plainly  considers  that 
the  great  object  of  each  man's  life  should  be  to  aggrandize, 
and  glorify,  and  enjoy  himself,  and  that,  thinking  as  little  of 
God  and  of  a  future  life  as  he  can,  he  should  seek  his  portion 
on  the  earth.  The  riches  which  it  believes  in  and  seeks  are 
those  that  '  perish  with  the  using ; '  the  honour,  that  '  which 
comes  from  men,  and  not  from  God  only.'  With  innumerable 
varieties  in  detail,  these  are  the  great  and  unvarying  general 
articles  of  the  world's  creed, — a  creed  held,  alas,  there  is  every 
reason  to  fear,  by  multitudes  who  would  be  greatly  astonished, 
and  think  themselves  greatly  wronged,  if  they  were  told  that 
they  held  it,  and  which  many  will  never  see  to  be  theirs  until 
they  read  their  hearts  by  the  light  shining  around  the  Judge  as 
He  seats  Himself  on  the  throne.  Now,  where  there  is  sym- 
pathy with  this  creed  of  the  world,  and  with  the  world's  desires, 
there,  in  the  measure  of  the  sympathy,  is  an  approach  to 
the  '  friendship  with  the  world '  of  which  our  apostle  speaks, 
and  under  the  power  of  which  he  intimates  that  many  of  his 
readers — if  one  might  judge  from  their  '  wars  and  fightings  ' 
for  earthly  advantages — had  fallen,  or  were  in  imminent  danger 
of  falling.  Where  this  sympathy  is  so  strong  that  there  is 
more  love  for  the  world  and  its  pursuits  than  for  God  and 
His  cause,  there  is  the  '  friendship '  in  fulness. 

This  '  friendship,'  he  says,  '  is  enmity  with  God!  Observe 
the  strength  of  the  expression.  Occasionally  in  the  world  we 
see  a  man  having  a  friendship  of  a  kind  with  both  of  two 
parties  who  are  opposed  to  each  other  ;  and  often  the  friend 
of  one  who  is  hostile  to  another  may  remain  in  a  relation  at 
least  of  indifference  to  that  other.     But  in  the  case  before  us 


3o8         Lechires  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

nothing  of  this  sort  is  possible.  '■  Eiimity''  is  merely  a  short 
form  of  '  enemy-ty,'  the  state  of  an  enemy ;  and  thus  we 
have  the  matter  clearly  set  before  us  :  '  The  friendship  of  the 
world  is  the  condition  of  an  enemy  to  God.'  There  is  a 
direct  opposition  between  the  views  and  desires  and  aims  of 
the  world  and  those  of  God  ;  and  from  the  relation  in  which 
we  stand  to  Him,  ther<;  can  be  no  neutrality  of  position  or  feel- 
ing. If  we  are  the  friends  of  the  world,  then  we  are  God's 
enemies ;  for  through  the  simple  fact  that  we  are  His  moral 
creatures,  we  are  under  obligation  to  be  His  loving  servants, 
and  we  '  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon.'  '  The  carnal 
mind  ' — the  spirit  of  the  world — '  is  enmity  against  God  ;  for ' 
(here  we  have  the  sum  of  the  whole  matter)  '  it  is  not  subject 
to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be.' 

For  professing  Christians  to  have  '  friendship  with  the  world ' 
involves,  the  apostle  intimates,  a  peculiar  criminality.  They 
are  ^adulterers  and  adulteresses,'  or,  according  to  the  best  au" 
thenticated  reading,  simply  '  adulteresses.''  A  little  consideration 
of  the  scope  of  the  passage  shows  that  this  name  is  not  intended 
to  be  taken  literally,  as  charging  the  apostle's  readers  with 
violation  of  the  marriage-bond.  To  such  a  charge  there  is  not 
the  slightest  allusion  anpvhere  in  the  verses,  and  what  follows 
equally  with  what  precedes  has  plainly  reference  to  worldli- 
ness  of  spirit  and  life.  But  James  speaks  according  to  that 
very  common  Old  Testament  figure,  familiar  to  all  his  Jewish 
readers,  in  which  God,  with  infinite  condescension  and  grace, 
represents  Himself  as  the  Husband  of  Israel, — who  was,  alas, 
an  unfaithful  spouse.  Similarly,  the  Lord  Jesus  spoke  of  the 
Jewish  church  of  His  time  as  '  a  wicked  and  adulterous  genera- 
tion.' In  James's  individualizing  word,  ^adulteresses'  there 
is  something  very  startling  and  rousing.  When,  according  to 
the  ordinary  form  of  the  image,  a  church  is  accused  of  being 
'  adulterous,'  each  member  is  very  apt  to  hide  himself  in  the 
crowd,  and  shake  off  the  thought  of  personal  guilt.  But  our 
apostle  presses  the  matter  home  to  every  conscience,  remind- 
ing his  readers  that  each  professing  Christian  soul  which, 
yielding  to  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  or  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  or  the 


VER.  4.]         Worldliness  Enmity  to  God.  309 

pride  of  life,  turns  aside  to  love  the  world  more  than  God,  Is 
unfaithful  to  its  sacred  vows,  and  has  the  sin,  the  debasement 
of  adultery.  The  use  of  the  simple  '  adulteresses '  for  '  adul- 
terous souls '  (of  course  of  men  as  well  as  of  women,  the 
feminine  form  being  employed  merely  to  suit  the  proprieties  of 
the  image)  is  strange,  but  for  that  very  reason  pointed,  sting- 
ing, and  memorable.  Every  reader  feels  the  force  and  liveliness 
with  which  the  figure  employed  here  depicts  the  enormity  of 
the  sin  of  worldly  professors  of  Christianity,  in  that  they  cast 
such  flagrant  dishonour  on  Him  whom  they  have  called  their 
'  Beloved,'  and  to  whom  they  have  publicly  united  themselves 
by  the  closest  and  tenderest  bonds.  The  repentance  of  such 
should  be  like  the  horror  and  loathing  with  which  a  wife,  who 
has  been  disloyal  to  a  true  and  loving  husband,  regards  herself, 
if  God's  grace  bring  her  back  to  a  sound  mind. 

The  second  part  of  this  verse  contains  a  practical  application 
of  the  general  principle  enunciated  in  the  first :  '  JVhosoever 
therefore  will  be  a  friend  of  the  world,  is  the  enemy  of  God^ 
This  is,  of  course,  involved  in  the  previous  general  statement ; 
yet  we  feel  it  to  be  a  weighty  addition,  sending  the  truth  home 
to  the  conscience,  calling  on  us  to  look  it  fairly  in  the  face, 
and  study  its  bearing  on  ourselves.  '  If  such  be  the  general 
principle,'  the  apostle  says,  '  then  stop,  each  of  you,  and  think 
what  your  religious  position  is.'  The  word  ^  wiir  in  this  sen- 
tence has  the  force  of  '  is  minded,'  and  by  it  James  suggests  to 
us  the  duty  of  honestly  and  unflinchingly  considering  what  is 
the  disposition  of  heart  that  underlies  and  reveals  itself  through 
our  conduct.  No  professing  Christian,  perhaps,  would  say 
definitely  to  his  own  soul,  '  I  am  minded  to  be  a  friend  of  the 
wicked  world;'  but  many  allow  themselves  to  drift  into  a  mode 
of  life  which  shows  that  such  a  spirit  has  been  gaining  strength. 
The  '  will '  that  thus  makes  itself  known,  James  would  have 
men  candidly  contemplate,  and  bethink  themselves  what  is  its 
import,  and  what  will  come  of  it.  One  who  '  will  be  a  friend 
of  the  world,'  thereby  '  constitutes  himself  (for  this  is  the  exact 
force  of  the  word  rendered  in  our  version  "  is ")  an  enemy  of 
God!     If  we  balance  profit  and  loss,  then,  what  do  we  find  ? 


3IO         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes,     [ch.  iv. 

Without  doubt,  the  'friendship  of  this  world'  has  attractions, 
strong  attractions ;  but  of  necessity,  because  they  are  of  '  this 
world,'  death  breaks  them  off  utterly ;  and  even  here  the  heart 
of  immortal  man  is  not  fully  satisfied  with  them.  Eating  the 
world's  bread,  the  soul  still  hungers ;  drinking  from  the  world's 
fountain,  the  soul  still  thirsts ;  warming  herself  by  the  world's 
fire,  the  soul  still  shudders  with  cold.  And  to  '  constitute  one- 
self an  enemy  of  God '  is  to  remain  in  spiritual  death,  and  grow 
more  meet  daily  for  eternal  death ;  to  have  the  Almighty  King 
of  the  universe  as  our  Foe  through  life,  our  Foe  at  the  judg- 
ment-seat, our  Foe  for  ever;  and  to  choose  this  relation  to 
him,  whilst  in  Christ  He  is  pleading  with  us  in  tones  of  the 
tenderest  love  and  pity  to  come  to  Him  and  be  His  '  friends,' 
to  sit  down  at  His  table  as  His  '  sons  and  daughters,'  to  '  cast 
our  burdens  upon  Him,'  and  '  find  rest  to  our  souls.' 

The  fifth  verse  and  the  first  clause  of  the  sixth  are  hard  of 
interpretation,  and  indeed  are  classed  by  some  with  the  most 
difficult  passages  of  the  New  Testament.  The  causes  of  the 
difficulty  are  these :  that  no  such  passage  as  James  seems  to 
quote  is  found  in  Scripture ;  that  the  words  of  the  apparent 
quotation  may,  with  more  or  less  naturalness,  be  very  variously 
understood ;  and  that,  on  perhaps  any  view  of  their  meaning, 
the  force  of  the  word  ^  more^  in  the  sixth  verse  is  not  clear. 
Various  passages  have  been  suggested  as  possibly  referred  to 
in  a  general  way  by  the  apostle,  such  as,  '  The  imagination  of 
man's  heart  is  evil  from  his  youth,'  or,  *  The  soul  of  the  wicked 
desireth  evilj'  but  there  is  none  so  similar  in  sentiment  and 
expression  to  the  statement  here  made  as  to  be  regarded  as 
the  original  from  which  James  quoted.  Some  commentators 
rid  themselves  of  the  difficulty  connected  with  the  quotation, 
by  making  '  God  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto  the 
humble,'  the  only  passage  cited, — putting  all  the  words  betpveen 
'  the  Scripture  saith  '  and  these  into  a  parenthesis.  The  quota- 
tion is  suitable  enough,  but  the  parenthesis  is  utterly  unnatural ; 
and  this  view  will  not  bear  examination. 

On  the  supposition  that  the  apostle  merely  intends  a  general 
reference  to  a  truth  taught  in  Scripture,  there  are  various  views 


VER.  5.]         Worldliness  Enmity  to  God.  31 1 

of  the  meaning.  Before  we  look  at  these,  however,  it  is  proper 
to  notice  that  the  '  dwelldh  '  of  our  translation  is  a  free  render- 
ing of  the  original  word, — the  exact  meaning  being  '  settled,' 
*  came  to  dwell.'  Our  translators  evidently  supposed  the  'spirit ' 
spoken  of  to  be  the  natin-al  hiwian  spirit^  the  depraved  state 
of  feeling  that  settled  in  man  at  the  fall.  In  this  case  the  sense 
is,  '  Do  you  think  (or  rather,  rendering  a  particle  which  our 
translators,  taking  it  as  merely  indicating  a  question,  have 
passed  over,  "  or  do  you  think ")  that  the  Scripture  has  no 
meaning  when  it  tells  us — as  it  does  everywhere,  for  this  is  in- 
volved in  all  its  teaching  regarding  our  duties  to  our  fellow- 
men — that  desires  which  take  the  direction  of  envy  are  from 
our  own  depraved  nature,  not  from  God,  and  hence  belong  to 
His  enemies,  not  His  friends?'  Against  this  view  lie  the 
strangeness  of  the  expression,  '  the  spirit  that  settled  in  us,'  for 
our  carnal  nature,  and  the  fact  that  no  reaso.n  is  apparent  why 
such  a  peculiar  paraphrase  was  chosen,  instead  of  the  simple 
designation  '  our  depravity.'  The  idea  that  Satan  is  the  '  spirit ' 
here  spoken  of  answers  some  of  the  requirements  of  the  context 
well.  The  line  of  thought  would  thus  be  :  'If  ye  be  worldly- 
minded,  ye  are  enemies  of  God ;  for  envy,  which  belongs  essen- 
tially to  worldly-mindedness,  is  always  said  in  the  divine  word 
to  come  from  the  great  enemy  of  God,  the  devil ;  but  God  gives 
grace  greater  (more  powerful)  than  Satan's  impulses  to  envy.' 
And  thus  we  are  very  naturally  led  on  to  '  Resist  the  devil, 
and  he  will  flee  from  you.'  But  the  same  objection  lies  against 
this  view  as  against  the  preceding — that  the  mode  of  expres- 
sion is  not  natural ;  and  besides — an  argument  which  has  some 
force  against  the  preceding  view,  but  much  more  against  this 
— the  antithesis  would,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  original 
language,  require  an  expressed ■i>yi}o]tQ.t  to  'giveth  grace;'  whilst, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  subject  is  not  expressed.  Moreover, 
whilst  Scripture  distinctly  teaches  the  universal  depravity  of 
man,  yet  that  Satan  '  dwells '  in  all  men  by  nature  is  not  a 
scriptural  representation.  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
says  that  ^ sin  dwelleth  in  us'  (Rom.  vii.  20) ;  and  the  Lord,  in 
the  epistle  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Pergamos,  speaks  of 


312         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  iv. 

that  city  as  a  place  'where.  Satan's  seat  is,'  and  'where  Satan 
dwelleth'  (Rev.  ii.  13).  But  such  language  as  that  which  is 
employed  by  the  Evangelist  John  regarding  Judas — '  After  the 
sop,  Satan  entered  into  him ' — appears  to  imply  that  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  devil  belongs  to  those  wjio  have  coinpktely 
given  themselves  up  to  iniquity. 

We  seem  shut  up  to  the  conclusion  that  in  the  passage 
before  us  the  apostle  refers  to  the  Divine  Spirit.  The  glorious 
doctrine  that  the  Holy  Ghost  'dwells'  in  Christ's  people  is 
one  of  the  commonplaces  of  our  faith.  'Dwell'  is  the  word 
usually  employed  in  the  writings  of  the  apostles  to  express 
this  most  wondrous  privilege,^  and  was  no  doubt  also  the 
ordinary  term  used  in  their  oral  teaching.  In  all  ages  of 
the  church,  then,  the  thought  most  readily  conveyed  to  the 
minds  of  well-instructed  Christians  by  the  words,  '  the  spirit 
that  came  to  dwell  in  us,'  taken  by  themselves,  would  unques- 
tionably be  '  the  Spirit  of  God.'  This  view  of  the  meaning 
is  supported  by  a  various  reading  of  the  original  text,  found 
in  several  of  the  oldest  manuscripts,  and  accepted  by  most 
of  the  modem  critical  editors, — a  reading  differing  from  the 
received  text  only  by  a  single  letter,  but  giving  for  '  dwell '  a 
transitive  sense — 'made  to  dwell:'  thus,  'the  spirit  that  (God) 
made  to  dwell  in  us,'  or  '  settled  in  us.'  You  will  see,  too,  that 
this  view  exactly  suits  the  '  he '  of  the  first  clause  of  the  sixth 
verse,  because  the  Holy  Spirit  is  Himself  the  God  that  '  giveth 
grace ;'  and  therefore,  there  being  no  antithesis,  but  a  refer- 
ence to  the  same  Divine  Agent,  an  expressed  subject  is  not 
needed.  This  at  least,  then,  I  think,  must  be  held  as  certain 
regarding  the  meaning  of  the  verse,  that  by  the  words,  'the 
spirit  that  came  to  dwell '  (or  '  that  He  caused  to  dwell ')  '  in 
us,'  the  apostle,  addressing  professing  Christians,  and  assuming 
that  they  were  what  they  professed  to  be,  designates  the  Holy 
Ghost,  who  at  their  conversion  had  been  given  by  God  to  dwell 
in  them. 

We  must  now  look  at  the  question  Avhat,.  according  to  the 

^  See  Rom.  viii.  9,  II  ;  I  Cor.  iii.  16;  2  Tim.  i.  14.  Compare  also  2 
Cor,  vi.  16 ;  \^\.  iii.  17 ;  John  xiv.  17  ;  I  John  iv.  12, 


VER.  5.]         Worldliiiess  Enmity  to  God.  313 

apostle,  '  the  Scripture  saith '  regarding  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
Christ's  people.  By  some  this  has  been  thought  to  be  that 
He  '  desireth  or  longeth  against  envy.''  The  original  words 
might  in  certain  circumstances  have  this  meaning ;  but  as 
they  stand  here  it  is  so  unnatural,  that  nothing  but  a  positive 
impossibility  of  obtaining  a  satisfactory  sense  from  the  passage 
in  any  other  way  would  justify  our  taking  it.  An  idea 
favoured  by  some  prominent  modern  expositors  is  that  the 
apostle,  having  in  his  mind  the  thoughts  of  the  previous 
verse — and  particularly  that  Old  Testament  figure  to  which 
he  had  there  alluded  by  the  word  'adulteresses,'  according 
to  which  the  tie  between  God  and  His  covenant  people  is 
exhibited  as  a  marriage  relation — refers  in  the  words  before 
us  to  the  frequent  Old  Testament  declaration  that  God  is  a 
''jealous''  God.  The  words  rendered  ^ to  envy''  may,  as  our 
translators  intimate  on  the  margin,  mean  '  enviously ;'  and 
adopting  this,  the  force  of  the  verse  is  given  thus  :  '  God,  whose 
closeness  of  relation  to  us  Christians  is  shown  by  His  dwelling 
in  us  through  His  Spirit,  enviously — that  is,  jealously — desireth 
us  for  His  own^  This  is  ingenious  and  fascinating,  and  accords 
well  with  at  least  the  preceding  context.  But  I  am  convinced 
that  the  statement  is  forced  out  of  the  words  of  the  verse, 
rather  than  legitimately  drawn.  You  will  notice  that  the  last 
words  in  the  rendering  just  given  are  an  arbitrary  supplement ; 
and  you  cannot  but  feel  how  unnatural,  how  unlike  James's 
simple,  perspicuous  style,  it  is  to  say,  'the  Spirit  jealously 
desireth,'  if  he  meant '  the  Spirit  jealously  desireth  us  for  His 
own.'  But  a  yet  greater  objection  lies  against  the  application 
of  the  phrase  '  enviously.'  One  cannot  but  think,  that  if  the 
intention  of  the  apostle  had  been  to  refer  his  readers  to  the  Old 
Testament  teaching  that  God  is  a  'jealous'  God,  he  would 
have  used  the  word  employed  in  the  Greek  version -of  the  Old 
Testament,  which  was  familiar  to  all  the  Jews  of  '  the  Disper- 
sion '  from  their  earliest  years.  Now  the  word  used  by  James 
is  never^  either  in  Scripture,  or,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  anywhere 
else,  employed  in  a  good  sense.  It  refers  to  envy,  and  no  other 
feeling ;  and,  applied  to  any  sentiment  of  the  mind  of  God, 


314         Lechtres  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

would  certainly  have  sounded  as  repulsively  and  untruthfully 
to  James's  readers  as  '  envy '  would  to  our  ears.  According  to 
a  somewhat  interesting  variation  of  the  view  of  the  meaning 
which  supposes  James  to  allude  to  the  marriage  between  God 
and  His  covenant  people,  the  sense  is  given  thus :  '  God 
jealously  desireth  for  Himself  the  (human)  spirit  that  He  gave 
to  dwell  in  us.'  This  occupies  ground  that  we  have  already 
traversed ;  and  thus  it  will  be  plain  that,  in  addition  to  the 
argument  against  it  derived  from  its  taking  '  enviously '  as 
equivalent  to  'jealously'  (an  argument  in  itself,  to  my  mind, 
altogether  insuperable),  it  underlies  also  the  serious  objection, 
that  the  familiar,  well-understood  phrase,  '  the  spirit  that  He 
gave  to  dwell  in  us,'  receives  another  meaning  than  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

On  the  whole,  it  seems  to  me  that,  with  Calvin  and  many 
other  expositors,  we  must  divide  the  verse  into  two  distinct 
questions  :  '  Do  you  think  that  the  Scripture  saith  it  in  vain  ? 
Doth  the  Spirit  that  came  to  dwell  in  us  '  (or  '  that  He  gave 
to  dwell  in  us ')  '  lust  to  envy  ? '  The  apostle  appeals  first 
to  Scripture,  and  then  to  their  own  consciences  as  educated 
by  Scripture,  luith  I'egard  to  that  essential  antagonism  between 
worldliness  and  true  piety  of  which  he  has  been  speaking  in  the 
previous  verses.  The  unemphatic  *  it,'  which  we  have  to  supply 
in  the  first  question,  as  often  in  sentences  of  the  kind,  means 
*  the  truth  which  I  have  just  been  enforcing.'  He  does  not 
refer  to  any  special  passage,  nor  does  he  need  to  do  so ;  for, 
as  has  been  already  said,  the  diametrical  opposition  between 
worldliness  and  the  will  of  God  lies  at  the  basis  of  the  whole 
moral  teaching  of  revelation, — especially  worldliness  showing 
itself  in  the  forms  he  has  described — covetousness,  envy,  and 
malignity.  '  Is  all  this  teaching  in  the  book  of  God,'  James 
says,  '■vain,  meaningless?'  Then,  in  another  forcible  inter- 
rogation, he  presses  the  matter  home  to  their  consciences. 
The  force  of  the  order  of  the  words  in  the  original  may  be 
brought  out  by  stating  the  question  thus  :  '  Does  desire  that 
takes  the  direction  of  envy  spring  from  the  Spirit  that  God 
gave  to  dwell  in  us  ?'     *  Enlightened  as  you  are  by  God's  word 


VER.  6.]         Worldliness  Enmity  to  God.  315 

respecting  His  will,  can  you  for  one  moment  dream,  when  envy 
rises  in  your  hearts,  that  this  is  a  prompting  of  the  Divine  Spirit 
within  you  ? '  Thus  the  appeal  is  substantially  a  repetition  of 
that  made  in  the  fourteenth  verse  of  the  previous  chapter,  '  If 
ye  have  bitter  envying  and  strife  in  your  hearts,  glory  not 
and  lie  not  against  the  truth' — by  asserting,  that  is  to  say, 
that  such  is  the  fruit  of  the  heavenly  wisdom  taught  by  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

To  all  who  know  anything  of  the  spirit  of  the  religion  01 
Jesus,  these  questions  obviously  carry  their  own  answer; 
and  in  all  the  apostle's  readers  who  were  in  any  considerable 
measure  impressed  by  what  he  had  said  to  them,  a  feeling  of 
deep  sadness  could  not  but  enter  the  heart,  through  a  con- 
sciousness how  much  they  had  neglected  compliance  with 
the  great  moral  principles  of  Scripture, — how  lamentably  they 
had  yielded  to  influences  very  different  from  those  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  who  had  been  'given  to  dwell  in  them.'  Ah, 
brethren,  in  what  age  of  the  church  has  such  sorrow  not  been 
called  for?  The  apostle,  then,  as  it  seems  to  me,  bends  the 
line  of  his  remark  to  respond  to  this  feeling.  He  bears  in 
mind  that  the  heralds  of  the  cross  are  pre-eminently  the 
bearers  of  '  glad  tidings,' — bound  to  remember,  even  amid 
their  sternest  and  justest  reproofs  of  sin  and  defect  on  the 
part  of  Christians,  that  in  the  church  their  great  commission 
is,  *  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people.'  '  Nay  but,  brethren, 
be  not  despondent' — this,  I  think,  is  the  thought  connecting 
the  two  verses — 'He  giveth  greater  grace ;''  or  rather,  perhaps, 
to  bring  out  the  force  of  the  peculiar  arrangement  of  the  words 
in  the  original,  ^  Nay,  hut  greater  is  the  grace  He  giveth^ — 
greater  than  the  strength  of  depravity,  greater  than  the  power 
of  the  spirit  of  darkness,  from  whom  temptations  to  envy 
and  all  fomis  of  worldliness  come.  '  The  impulses  you  feel  to 
covetousiress,  and  envy,  and  anger,  are  efforts  of  the  strong 
one  who  in  time  past  wrought  in  you,  when  ye  were  children 
of  disobedience,  to  regain  his  old  dominion  ;  but  the  Spirit 
that  now  dwelleth  in  you  is  stronger  than  he,  and  by  His 
grace  will  enable  you  to  repel  the  foe.' 


3i6         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

And  being  ready  to  give  this  sustaining  grace,  He  tells  us  of 
His  willingness,  that  we  may  go  to  Him  and  cast  ourselves 
upon  His  love  in  the  appointed  way :  '  Wherefore  He  saith.^ 
Now  the  apostle  might  have  cited  innumerable  passages  giving 
the  assurance  of  God's  readiness  to  bless  ;  but  he  chooses  one 
that  most  clearly  and  forcibly  brings  forward  the  tenns  of  the 
divine  offer,  and  thus,  in  conjunction  with  the  declaration  of 
glad  tidings,  continues  the  previous  strain  of  solemn  warning : 
'  6*1?^  resist eth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto  the  humble.''  This 
passage  is  a  verse  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  translated  in  our 
version,  'Surely  He  scorneth  the  scorners,  but  He  giveth  grace 
unto  the  lowly '  (Prov.  iii.  34).-  The  apostle  gives  it  according 
to  the  ordinary  Greek  version  in  use  among  the  Jews.  The  truth 
exhibited  in  the  statement  is  one  which  meets  us  everywhere 
in  the  Bible,  that  while  God  '  waiteth  to  be  gracious,'  yearn- 
ing to  'crown  us  with  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercies,' 
yet  He  will  have  all  the  glory  of  man's  deliverance ;  and  that 
only  those  who  cordially  consent  that  it  should  be  so  can  be 
blessed  and  saved.  So  long  as  we  lean  on  ourselves,  counting 
ourselves  the  possessors  of  any  moral  excellence,  we  remain 
outside  the  sweep  of  God's  salvation.  When,  sensible  of 
utter  unworthiness  and  feebleness,  we  cast  ourselves  wholly 
on  Him  (and  this  very  willingness  to  lean  on  Him  is  '  not  of 
ourselves,'  but  '  the  gift  of  God '),  then  He  rescues  us  by  '  the 
saving  strength  of  His  right  hand.'  '■  God  resistcth  the  proud. ^ 
He  says :  '  Woe  unto  you  that  are  rich,  for  ye  have  received 
your  consolation  !  Woe  unto  you  that  are  full,  for  ye  shall 
hunger!'  Man  was  made  for  simple,  child-like  dependence 
on  God :  anything  else  is  dishonouring  to  God,  and  certainly 
opposed,  therefore,  to  our  own  true  happiness.  Now  pride, 
whatever  form  it  takes,  is  essentially  a  glorifying  of  self,  and 
necessarily  therefore,  so  far  as  it  goes,  is  an  attempt  to  be  or 
to  feel  independent  of  God.  This  spirit,  and  those  who  cherish 
it,  God,  consistently  with  His  own  honour  and  the  good  of  His 
universe,  cannot  but  'resist.'  But  He  '■giveth  grace  unto  the 
humbled  It  is  the  man  who  says,  'Father,  I  have  sinned  in 
Thy  sight,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  Thy  son,'  that 


VER.  6.]         Worldliness  Enmity  to  God.  317 

receives  the  Father's  kiss  of  forgiveness  and  welcome,  and 
restoration  to  all  the  privileges  of  sonship  ;  it  is  he  who  knows 
and  believes  that  by  nature  he  is,  as  regards  the  matters  of 
highest  moment,  a  fool,  that  is  '  made  wise ;'  he  who  acknow- 
ledges himself  utterly  weak,  that  is  '  strengthened  with  might 
by  God's  Spirit ;'  he  who  sees  and  feels  himself  to  be  full 
of  sin,  that  is  'made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Christ,' 
and  '  sanctified  wholly.'  As  the  seraphic  Leighton  says  :  '  God 
pours  out  His  grace  plentifully  on  humble  hearts.  His  sweet 
dews  and  showers  slide  off  the  mountains  to  fall  on  the  low 
valleys  of  humble  hearts,  and  make  them  pleasant  and  fertile.'^ 

'  The  dew  that  never  wets  the  flinty  mountain 

Falls  in  the  valleys  free  : 
Bright  verdure  fringes  the  small  desert-fountain, 
But  barren  sand  the  sea. '  ^ 

^  Commentary  on  First  Peter,  on  v.  5,  where  Peter  quotes  the  same  pas- 
sage from  Proverbs  that  James  does  here. 

2  The  late  R  ev.  J.  D.  Burns,  in  a  little  poem  entitled  HumUity. 


3 1 8         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 


XXII. 
SUBMISSION   TO   GOD. 

'  Submit  yourselves  therefore  to  God.  Resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee 
from  you.  8  Dravi^  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you. 
Cleanse  your  hands,  ye  sinners  ;  and  purify  your  hearts,  ye  double- 
minded.  9  Be  afflicted,  and  mourn,  and  weep  :  let  your  laughter  be 
turned  to  mourning,  and  your  joy  to  heaviness.  lo  Humble  your- 
selves in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  He  shall  lift  you  up.' — James  iv. 
7-10. 

IN  the  first  part  of  this  paragraph  the  apostle's  thoughts  are 
presented  under  figures  drawn  fi-om  the  military  life. 
This  is  naturally  suggested  by  the  description  of  worldly  men 
which  has  preceded,  as  '  enemies  '  of  God,  and  the  declaration 
that  God  '  resisteth '  the  proud.  Indeed  here,  as  in  many 
parts  of  the  Epistle,  we  see  the  connection  of  thoughts  marked 
by  the  use  of  kindred  words  ;  for  the  original  terms  translated 
'  resisteth'  and  '  submit'  are  from  the  same  root,  and  thus  we 
have  the  junction  of  thoughts  :  God  '  takes  a  position  of  resist- 
ance '  to  the  proud ;  '  take  you,  therefore,  a  position  of  sub- 
mission '  to  God.  The  first  clause  of  the  seventh  verse,  '  Sub- 
mit yourselves  to  God^  is  the  theme  or  text  of  the  whole  para- 
graph. In  the  following  verses  it  is  expanded.  Then,  after 
the  details,  the  theme  is  in  the  tenth  verse  in  substance  re- 
peated, by  way  of  summing  up  the  whole,  but  with  a  gracious 
promise  conjoined.  This  structure  reminds  us  of  that  of 
many  of  the  Psalms,  and  indeed,  throughout,  the  passage  is 
not  unlike  a  psalm  in  its  parallelism  and  rhythmical  flow  of 
expression. 

The  apostle  passes  here,  as  you  observe,  from  argument  to 
injunction.  His  readers  were  professing  servants  of  God,  for 
otherwise  their  conduct  would  not  have  been  called  spiritual 


VER, 


7.]  Submission  to  God.  319 


'  adultery  '  or  *  double-mindedness.'  They  were  therefore  per- 
sons who  might  be  assumed  to  have  thought  seriously  regard- 
ing the  relations  between  God  and  themselves.  James  has 
shown  them  that  not  a  little  in  their  conduct  was  such  as 
characterized  God's  enemies,  since  they  had  been  living  in 
great  measure  as  proud  worldlings  do — those  whom  God  '  re- 
sists,' against  whom  He  places  Himself  in  the  direct  opposition 
of  battle.  Such  an  exhibition  of  the  true  state  of  the  case  was 
surely  sufficient  for  them.  They  knew  how  mad  a  dream  it 
was,  that  any  of  God's  creatures  could  oppose  their  Maker 
with  success.  They  knew  that  whoever  persistently  defied 
the  Lord,  and  rushed  on  '  the  thick  bosses  of  Jehovah's 
buckler,'  could  not  but  meet  with  destruction ;  so  that  the 
certain  end  of  the  war  would  be  the  complete  subjection  of  all 
the  foes  of  the  Almighty,  either  by  their  voluntary  submission 
or  by  their  absolute  and  irretrievable  overthrow.  There  was 
no  third  possibility.  No  other  advice,  then,  could  be  given 
to  them  by  a  wise  friend  than  this  :  '  Submit  yourselves  to  God;'' 
*  cast  away  the  weapons  of  your  rebellion,  and  throw  your- 
selves at  His  feet,  praying  Him  to  pardon  you,  and  give  you 
grace  to  live  henceforth  as  loyal  subjects.' 

Of  the  readers  of  the  Epistle  some  were  true  Christians, 
many  of  whom,  unhappily,  had  been  drawn  away  by  the  seduc- 
tions of  the  world  ;  others  were  self-deceivers.  To  both  of 
these  classes  this  injunction  is  addressed ;  for  the  Christian 
life  consists  simply  in  the  continuance  and  increase  of  a  man's 
'  subjection'  to  those  principles  and  influences,  the  surrender 
of  his  heart  to  which  made  him  a  Christian.  It  is  '  through 
faith,'  the  principle  which  introduced  us  into  the  Christian  life, 
that  we  are  '  kept  by  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation ;'  and 
the  fundamental  precept  for  God's  children  is  simply  to  '  grow 
in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.'  To  all  classes  of  the  readers,  then — alike  to  those 
who  have  hitherto  remained  utterly  stiff-necked  and  rebellious, 
and  to  God's  own  people,  whose  consciences  tell  them  how 
many  uprisings  there  are  in  their  hearts  of  arrogance  and 
self-will — James  says :  '  True  wisdom  has  but  one  course  for 


2,20         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James .     [ch,  iv. 

you — to  submit  yourselves  willingly  and  unreservedly  to  God. 
Renounce  self-will,  and  in  everything  take  God's  will  as  yours.' 
The  precept  means  all  this  ;  and  anything  less  on  the  part  of 
God's  moral  creatures  is  inconsistent  with  the  highest,  truest 
life — opposed  at  once  to  duty  and  to  happiness. 

The  submission  spoken  of  is,  in  the  first  place,  to  God's  g7-ace. 
For  sinful  creatures  the  primary  step  in  submission — the  root 
from  which  all  the  rest  is  to  spring — must  be  the  '  submitting  our- 
selves,' as  Paul  has  it,  '  to  the  righteousness  of  God,' — accept- 
ing with  meekness  of  heart  His  way  of  justification  through 
the  work  of  Christ.  To  acknowledge,  and  by  Bible-study  and 
self-study  to  grow  into  an  ever  more  profound  and  lively  con- 
viction, that  our  own  personal  desert,  even  at  our  best  estate, 
is  God's  anger,  and  that  in  no  spiritual  robe  except  the  wed- 
ding garment  of  the  great  King's  own  bestowal  can  man  stand 
with  acceptance  before  Him, — to  '  glory  in  the  cross  of  Christ,' 
and  for  its  excellency  to  '  count  all  things  else  but  loss,' — this 
is  the  basis  of  '  submission  to  God.'  And  on  it  rises  submis- 
sion to  God's  law.  Where  the  first  step  has  been  taken,  this 
certainly  follows  ;  and  the  more  complete  and  intelligent  our 
submission  to  divine  grace,  the  more  thorough  always  will  be 
our  submission  to  the  divine  law.  Gratitude  and  love  to  Him 
who  by  His  atoning  death  has  delivered  us  from  its  curse,  will 
bring  us,  through  the  influences  of  the  Spirit,  ever  more  fully 
under  the  sway  of  its  principles.  Until  God  quickens  us,  we 
deem  His  law  a  law  of  bondage  ;  but  when  we  are  quickened, 
we  see  it  to  be  '  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,'  in  obedience  to  which, 
and  in  no  other  way,  all  our  energies  find  full,  free,  satisfying 
exercise.  The  believer,  in  the  measure  in  which  he  is  a  be- 
liever, '  esteems  all  God's  precepts  concerning  all  things  to  be 
right.'  He  desires  and  strives,  through  divine  help,  so  to  have 
God's  will  as  his,  as  to  be,  and  do,  and  bear  aright  all  that  God 
appoints.  Ah,  that  bearing  aright,  how  hard  a  part  of  the 
work  it  is  !  Yet  no  element  of  '  submitting  ourselves  to  God  ' 
is  more  needful,  none  more  precious  in  its  results,  than  sub- 
mission to  His  will  in  providence, — not  with  sullenness  be- 
cause we  must,  as  to  the  deed  of  an  irresistible  foe,  but  true 


VER.  7.]  Submission  to  God.  321 

submission  of  the  heart,  as  of  a  child  to  the  act  of  a  Father  whose 
wisdom  and  love  he  trusts  perfectly.  It  is  evident  that  with 
failure  here,  the  class  of  sins  which  James  has  been  specially 
rebuking  stood  in  close  connection.  Many  of  his  readers  were 
discontented  with  God's  providential  actings  in  regard  to  their 
situation  in  life,  their  wealth  and  rank  ;  and  hence  came  envy- 
ing and  grudging  at  the  good  of  their  neighbours,  i;iialignity, 
strife,  and  wretchedness.  Wondrously  sweet  is  it,  my  brethren, 
to  rest  in  the  divine  love.  '  Cast  thy  burden  on  the  Lord,  and 
He  shall  sustain  thee.'  '  Blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in 
Him.'  '  Submit  yourselves  unto  the  Lord,'  then,  brethren — 
to  His  grace  and  to  His  law,  whether  in  regard  to  being,  or 
doing,  or  bearing.  This  is  the  apostle's  injunction  here — the 
theme  which  he  expands  in  the  precepts  that  follow. 

These  fall  to  some  extent  into  pairs.  In  the  first  pair  we  have 
a  very  lively  antithesis  :  '  Resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from 
you ;  draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  yoii^  It 
would  have  been  well,  for  the  exhibition  of  the  structure  and 
connection,  had  the  division  into  verses  been  different ;  the 
theme  or  text,  '  Submit  yourselves,  therefore,  to  God,'  standing 
by  itself,  and  then  the  pair  in  a  verse  together.  Submission  to 
God,  the  apostle  here  points  out,  involves  two  lines  of  effort 
for  the  soul, — opposition  to  the  evil  spirit,  the  usurper,  and 
self- surrender  to  the  great  good  Spirit,  the  rightful  King. 
And  appended  to  the  injunction  of  each  of  these  duties,  you 
observe,  there  stands  a  promise, — according  to  that  exquisite 
tenderness  which  belongs  to  all  true  gospel  pleading,  even  in 
circumstances  where  of  necessity  stern  severity  is  most  pro- 
minent. The  apostle  gives  us  the  comforting  assurance  that 
the  needful  spiritual  efforts  may  be  made  with  all  hopefulness  ; 
for  Satan  when  resisted  will  flee,  God  when  approached  will 
meet  the  approach. 

In  the  mention  of  Satan  here,  James  incidentally  fills  up  the 
teaching  which  he  gave  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  verses 
of  the  first  chapter  regarding  the  natural  history  of  sin.  '  Every 
man  is  tempted,'  he  told  us,  '  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own 
lust  and  enticed.     Then,  when  lust  hath  conceived,  it  bringeth 

X 


322         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

forth  sin ;  and  sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death.' 
But,  besides,  a  spirit  of  great  power  and  cunning,  and  bound- 
less hatred  to  God  and  goodness,  is  continually  busy  in  endea- 
vours to  bring  us  into  sin,  and  to  baffle  our  efforts  to  serve 
God.  Many  think  very  little  of  Satan's  diligence  in  temptation, 
but  his  zeal  and  power  are  none  the  less  real ;  and  perhaps 
one  of  the  strangest  of  all  the  strange  revelations  of  the  judg- 
ment-day will  be  that  made  to  wicked  men,  how  completely 
they  were  the  tools  of  a  spirit  wickeder  and  subtler  than  them- 
selves, of  whom  they  seldom  thought, — whose  very  existence,  it 
may  be,  they  derided  the  belief  in  as  a  mere  childish  bugbear. 
In  the  '  friendship  with  this  world,'  which  James  has  already 
laid  to  the  charge  of  his  readers,  they  had  been  under  the 
influences  of  this  world's  prince ;  and  this,  as  our  Lord  tells 
us,  is  Satan.  Now,  those  who  desire  to  'submit  themselves 
to  God'  must  energetically  '■resist  the  devil;''  for  he  makes 
the  fiercest  struggles  to  keep  his  subjects,  and  even  after 
they  have  escaped,  to  drag  them  back  into  the  kingdom 
of  darkness.  This  cruel,  cunning,  powerful  foe  must  be 
'  resisted  '  in  the  divine  strength,  obtained  by  the  power 
of  faith.  '  The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  mighty  through 
God,'  not  otherwise.  He  has  provided  for  us  all  needed 
weapons  for  off"ence,  and  armour  for  defence.  Let  us  then 
*  put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  we  may  be  able  to 
stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil ;  for  we  wrestle  not  against 
flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against  powers, 
against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against 
spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places.  Let  us  stand,  therefore, 
having  our  loins  girt  about  with  truth,  and  having  on  the 
breastplate  of  righteousness,  and  our  feet  shod  with  the  pre- 
paration of  the  gospel  of  peace ;  above  all,  taking  the  shield 
of  faith,  wherewith  we  shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery 
darts  of  the  wicked  one ;  and  let  us  take  the  helmet  of  salva- 
tion, and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God.' 
Thus  arrayed,  let  us  be  watchful,  knowing  that  at  any 
moment,  from  any  quarter,  with  the  most  varied  weapons, 
and  in  the  most  varied  guises,  our  fell   adversary  may  be 


VER.  7.]  Submission  to  God.  323 

upon  us.  Let  us  watch  the  avenues  where  we  know  our 
position  to  be  weak.  Let  us  watch  the  sides,  too,  where  we 
think  ourselves  to  be  strong.  Not  without  profound  signifi- 
cance and  tender  grace  was  it  '  written  aforetime  for  our  learn- 
ing,' that  Abraham,  pre-eminently  a  man  of  faith,  told  a  lie 
through  faithless  cowardice ;  that  Moses,  habitually  the  meekest 
of  men,  sinned  through  angry  impatience  with  his  brethren ; 
that  Peter,  the  bold  and  loving,  denied  his  Master.  One  can 
imagine  a  sentry  on  a  post  of  danger  to  be  faithful,  and  yet 
to  betray  the  position  by  unduly  narrowing  the  area  to  which 
he  directs  his  attention.  'Look  at  him.  Every  look,  every 
motion,  betokens  concentration  of  his  thoughts  and  feelings 
on  the  danger  which  impends.  Perhaps  he  is  motionless,  but 
it  is  only  that  his  eye  may  be  more  stedfastly  fixed  upon  the 
point  from  which  the  enemy's  approach  is  apprehended.  You 
can  see  at  a  glance  that  he  is  ready  for  even  the  faintest  inti- 
mation of  a  moving  object  on  that  horizon.  But  while  he 
stands  like  a  statue,  behind  him  are  forms  becoming  every 
moment  more  and  more  defined.  He  hears  them  not,  because 
their  step  is  noiseless ;  he  sees  them  not,  because  his  eye  and 
all  his  faculties  are  employed  in  an  opposite  direction.  While 
he  strains  every  sense  to  catch  the  first  intimations  of  approach- 
ing danger,  it  is  creeping  stealthily  behind  him ;  and  when  at 
last  his  ear  distinguishes  the  tramp  of  armed  men,  it  is  too 
late,  for  a  hostile  hand  is  already  on  his  shoulder,  and,  if  his 
life  is  spared,  it  is  only  to  be  overpowered  and  disarmed.'^ 

And  when  the  enemy  does  appear,  brethren,  let  there  be  no 
dallying  with  him.  If  we  '  give  place  to  the  devil,'  granting 
him  room  to  stand  with  us  and  negotiate,  we  are  in  the  utmost 
peril.  On  many  subjects,  second  thoughts  are  best;  but  in 
matters  of  moral  duty,  the  first  thoughts  of  a  person  whose 
conscience  is  reasonably  enlightened,  are  almost  always  true 
thoughts.  If  second  thoughts  be  waited  for,  they  often  bring 
in  worldly  considerations,  and  tend  towards  a  compromise. 
When  Satan  finds  that  the  first  clear  instinctive  '  Nay '  of  the 
conscience  is  the  utterance  of  a  strong  will,  which  holds  to  its 
'  Professor  Addison  Alexander's  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  p.  268. 


324         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

words,  he  knows  well  that  his  efforts  are  vain  with  that  soul ; 
for  it  is  God's  Spirit  that  has  made  the  will  strong.  If  promptly, 
prayerfully,  watchfully,  we  'resist  the  devil,'  he  ^  will  flee  from 
tis^  Though  this  world  is  still  practically  so  under  Satan  as 
its  god  and  prince,  as  that  he  '  blinds  the  minds  of  them  which 
believe  not,'  and  '  leads  them  captive  at  his  will,'  yet  in  truth 
Jesus  has  vanquished  him,  'spoiling'  him,  and  'triumphing 
over  him ;'  and  wherever  gospel  truth  is  received  and  welcomed 
in  any  soul,  there  '  the  prince  of  this  world  is  cast  out,'  and 
thus  that  soul  is  'delivered  from  the  power  of  darkness.'  Every 
struggle  against, Satan's  vengeful  assaults  to  recover  his  posi- 
tion, if  earnestly  maintained  in  the  strength  of  Christ,  will  cer- 
tainly be  successful, — '  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken 
it.'  Satan  is  too  shrewd  to  go  on  persistently  wasting  his 
energies,  when  he  sees  distinctly  that,  through  strong  faith, 
almightiness  is  enlisted  against  him.  The  grand  old  dreamer 
says  that  the  fight  between  Christian  and  Apollyon  in  the 
Valley  of  Humiliation  '  was  the  dreadfullest  fight  that  ever  he 
saw  j'  but  that,  in  the  end,  after  Christian  had  made  at  him 
again  and  again  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  '  Apollyon  spread 
forth  his  dragon's  wings  and  sped  him  away,  that  Christian  saw 
him  no  more.'  He  may  come  back  and  repeat  his  ^.ssaults 
many  times,  in  hope  of  finding  unguarded  moments,  seasons 
of  faithlessness  and  consequent  feebleness.  To  the  Lord  Him- 
self he  applied  temptation  after  temptation  in  the  wilderness ; 
and  even  at  the  close  of  that  effort  departed  from  Him  only 
'  for  a  season,'  to  return  with  bitter  fury  in  Gethsemane.  But 
every  assault  well  repelled  confirms  the  believer's  spiritual 
strength  ;  and  the  assurance  holds  good  universally,  '  Resist 
the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you.' 

The  apostle  continues :  '  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will 
draw  nigh  to  yoic^  If  we  consider  the  military  figure  to  be 
still  retained,  then,  taking  this  injunction  in  connection  with 
the  previous,  which  we  have  examined,  the  picture  perhaps  is 
that  of  two  hosts  facing  each  other  on  the  eve  of  battle — the 
host  of  God  and  the  host  of  Satan,  with  each  king  present 
among  his  troops.     Some  who  have  hitherto  been  in  the  ranks 


VER.  8.]  Submission  to  God.  325 

of  Satan,  now  convinced  that  he  is  a  vile  and  cruel  usurper, 
and  that  the  battle  must  end  in  the  destruction  of  all  who 
adhere  to  him,  forsake  their  station  and  move  toward  the  side 
of  God.  Their  old  king  and  his  myrmidons  observe  their 
movement,  and  strive  to  prevent  them  \  but  they  '  resist ' 
stoutly,  and  steadily  '  draw  nigh  to '  Him  whom  they  now  re- 
cognise as  their  only  true  and  rightful  Lord.  Of  this  '  dratving 
jiigh  to  God^  the  most  prominent  element  is  prayer,  the  special 
manifestation  of  longings  for  Him ;  but  the  expression  exhibits 
generally  a  movement  of  the  whole  soul — all  the  thoughts  and 
affections,  and  consequently  also  their  issues  in  the  outward 
life — towards  Him.  The  prodigal  in  the  '  far  country,'  musing 
on  his  folly  and  wickedness,  says,  '  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my 
Father;'  and  he  does  arise  and  go  to  his  Father. 

But  how  will  he  be  received  ?  Will  his  Father's  righteous 
anger  find  utterance,  and  nought  else  ?  The  gospel  has  been 
given  to  us  to  answer  this  question,  and  it  tells  us  that  the  King 
will  '  draiu  nigh  to  us ' — will  '  draw  nigh  to  them  that  draw  nigh 
to  Him.'  The  Father  saw  His  returning  prodigal  '  when  he  was 
yet  a  great  way  off,  and  had  compassion,  and  ran,  and  fell  on 
his  neck,  and  kissed  him.'  Nay,  the  very  willingness  of  the 
prodigal  to  return  to  his  Father's  house — the  willingness  of 
those  who  have  been  in  Satan's  ranks  to  draw  nigh  to  God, 
their  true. King — springs  from  His  willingness  to  draw  nigh  to 
them  ;  for  it  is  He  that  puts  the  longing  for  Himself  into  our 
souls,  through  His  Spirit.  It  is  'in  the  day  of  Messiah's 
power '  that  '  His  people  are  willing.'  '  No  man  can  come 
unto  Me,'  said  Jesus,  '  except  the  Father  who  hath  sent  Me 
draw  him.'  *  Of  His  own  will  begat  He  us  with  the  word  of 
truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  first-fruits  of  His  creatures  :' 
that  is  the  genesis  of  all  true  religion.  Let  no  fears,  then, 
dear  friends,  keep  us  back  from  God.  Our  God  is  '  very 
pitiful  and  of  tender  mercy.'  '  He  that  spared  not  His  own 
Son,  but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,'  may  surely  claim  our 
fullest  confidence,  when  He  tells  us  that  'He  waiteth  to  be 
gracious.' 

'  But  observe,'  the  apostle  continues,  '  that  if  this  approach 


326         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.     [ch.  iv. 

to  God  is  to  give  Him  glory  or  bring  you  profit,  it  must  be  not 
formal  merely,  but  real ;  not  partial  only,  but  of  the  whole 
nature.  Prayer  for  God's  forgiveness  and  the  help  of  His 
Spirit  is  proved  to  be  sincere  by  earnest  effort  after  conformity 
of  character  to  His  will,  and  this  as  regards  both  heart  and 
outward  life.  Cleanse  your  hajids,  ye  sinners  ;  and  petrify  your 
hearts,  ye  dotible-nmided.^  It  is  important  to  notice  that  what 
is  here  enjoined  is  not  set  forth  as  something  antecedent  to 
'drawing  nigh  to  God,'  but  involved  in  it  as  an  essential 
element.  Fleshly  wisdom  says,  '■  Reform,  and  then  you  may 
approach  to  God  with  some  reasonable  hope  of  acceptance.' 
The  teaching  of  the  gospel  is,  that  the  spiritual  life  which  is 
needed  for  any  true  moral  activity  is  to  be  obtained  only  in 
nearness  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  the  duty  of 
every  hearer  of  the  gospel,  whatever  the  measure  of  his  defile- 
ment be,  when  the  glad  tidings  come  to  him,  is  to  believe  that 
'  now  is  the  accepted  time.'  But  it  was  '  our  iniquities '  that 
'  separated  between  us  and  God  ; '  and  therefore  all  real  draw- 
ing near  to  Him  involves  hatred  of  those  iniquities,  and  earnest 
endeavour  to  shun 'them. 

In  the  Old  Testament  usage,  which  here,  as  very  often,  our 
apostle  follows  in  his  mode  of  employing  words  and  phrases, 
the  term  '  sinner '  has  mainly  reference  to  manifest  wickedness  ; 
and  the  '  hands '  are  very  frequently,  and  most  naturally,  taken 
to  represent  all  the  instrumentalities  by  which  the  soul  acts 
upon  the  outer  world.  Accordingly,  pointing  by  the  name 
^sinners''  to  the  many  outward  violations  of  the  law  of  God 
of  which  his  readers  had  been  guilty,  James  calls  upon  them 
to  ^cleanse  their  hands ^  Very  similarly,  Paul,  in  writing  to 
Timothy,  says,  *  I  will  that  men  pray  everywhere,  lifting  up 
holy  hands'  (i  Tim.  ii.  8).  The  visible  moral  deformities, 
however,  revealed  a  lamentable  perversity  of  heart.  The 
'  sinners '  were  *  double-minded.^  Their  souls  were  perhaps  not 
altogether  destitute  of  love  to  God,  and  trust  in  Him,  but  were 
certainly  also  occupied  to  a  lamentable  degree  by  love  to  the 
world,  and  confidence  in  it.  It  became  them,  therefore,  ;f 
they  indeed  desired  to  have  their  '  Maker  as  their  Husband,' 


VER.  9.]  Submission  to  God.  327 

and  to  '  draw  near  to  Him,'  to  recognise  the  folly  and  guilt 
of  being  'adulterous,'  as  in  the  fourth  verse  the  apostle  has 
declared  them  to  be,  and  to  ^purify  (or  "make  chaste") 
their  hearts'  The  truth  exhibited  by  James  in  his  double 
precept  here,  that  approaches  to  God  are  sincere  and  success- 
ful only  when  they  include  true  and  earnest  longings  and 
endeavours  after  purity  and  beauty  of  spirit  and  of  life,  is  one 
of  vast  practical  moment,  and  which  accordingly  meets  us 
everywhere  in  the  Bible.  '  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for 
they  shall  see  God.'  '  I  will  wash  mine  hands  in  innocency ; 
so  will  I  compass  Thine  altar,  O  Lord.'  '  If  I  regard  iniquity 
in  my  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear  me.'  'Who  shall  ascend 
into  the  hill  of  the  Lord,  or  who  shall  stand  in  His  holy 
place  ?     He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart.' 

The  apostle  proceeds  now  to  remind  his  readers,  that  the 
very  first  evidence  of  true  desire  to  'draw  nigh  to  God'  is 
deep  penitential  sorrow  for  sin ;  and  the  needfulness  of  this 
sorrow,  and  also  of  energetic  thought  regarding  it,  in  order  to 
resist  our  natural  tendency  to  frivolity,  is  shown  in  the  copious- 
ness of  the  language.  Word  is  piled  upon  word — expressions 
of  'lamentation  and  mourning  and  woe,' — that  the  most  incon- 
siderate reader  may  have  brought  distinctly  and  impressively 
before  him,  how  necessary  is  the  night  of  repentant  weeping,  if 
there  is  to  come  a  morning  of  spiritual  joy.  The  Christian  life, 
brethren,  is  a  life  of  happiness,  of  rest,  of '  peace  that  passeth  all 
understanding,'  and  'joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.' 
Believers  know  indeed  the  seriousness  of  life,  and  thus  their 
happiness  is  tinged  with  gravity ;  but  for  that  very  reason  it  is 
deep,  and  broad,  and  lasting.  In  a  world  like  this,  where  death 
is  the  one  great  certainty,  any  joy  that  is  not  tempered  with 
seriousness  must  be  like  the  crackling  of  a  fire  of  thorns,  where 
speedily  again  all  is  cold  and  dark.  But  after  seasons  ot 
backsliding  and  spiritual  torpor,  this  characteristic  seriousness 
of  the  Christian  must  deepen  into  sorrow,  the  intensely  bitter 
sorrow  of  self-upbraiding  for  unthankfulness  and  disloyalty  to 
our  gracious  King  and  Father.  And,  considering  the  energy 
with  which  the  '  law  of  sin  in  the  members '  wages  its  war  with 


328         Lecttires  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

'  the  law  of  the  mind,'  the  professing  Christian  whose  history- 
has  given  him  no  experience  of  this  sorrow  has  reason  to  fear 
that  his  immunity  is  due  rather  to  bhndness  and  hardness  of 
heart  than  to  uninterrupted  growth  in  grace.  ''Be  afflicted, 
then,'  says  James  to  the  professing  servants  of  God  who  had 
been  beguiled  by  the  seductions  of  the  world  ('  Have  a  feeling 
of  distress,'  instead  of  the  thoughtlessness  and  baseless  mirth 
which  arise  out  of  the  '  friendship  of  the  world '),  '  and  mourn, 
and  weep;  let  your  laughter '  (the  '  laughter  of  the  fool,'  who, 
in  the  m.idst  of  great  everlasting  realities,  looks  only  at 
shadows)  '  he  turned  to  nioummg,  and  your  joy  to  heaviness^ 
'Dejection' — the  sorrowful  casting  down  of  those  eyes  which 
aforetime  sent  greedy  and  arrogant  glances  out  to  the  vanities 
of  the  world, — this  is  the  exact  representative  of  the  original 
term  here  rendered  *  heaviness.^  The  type  of  the  penitent  is 
the  publican  who,  '  standing  afar  off,  would  not  lift  up  so  much 
as  his  eyes  unto  heaven,  but  smote  upon  his  breast,  saying,  God 
be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner.' 

In  the  tenth  verse  James  closes  the  paragraph  by  summing 
up  the  teaching  of  the  whole  :  '  Humble  yourselves  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lo7'd'  This  is  substantially  a  repetition  of  the  theme 
or  fundamental  injunction  that  began  the  paragraph:  'Submit 
yourselves  to  God.'  Since  '  God  resisteth  the  proud,  but 
giveth  grace  unto  the  humble,'  the  obvious  demand  of  true 
wisdom  is  that  all  who  have  permitted  the  proud  self-reliance 
which  shows  itself  in  '  friendship  with  this  world '  to  gain  power 
over  them,  should  at  once  ^humble  themselves^  And  this  ^ in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord.''  The  sense  of  His  presence  whose 
'  eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire,'  will  secure  what,  in  a  work  so 
repulsive  to  the  carnal  mind,  nothing  else  will — genuine 
sincerity.  It  is  in  the  measure  of  the  distinctness  with  which 
through  faith  we  see  God,  too,  that  the  soul  perceives  the 
grounds  of  humility,  recognising  in  the  light  of  the  divine 
character  its  own  defilement  and  deformity.  '  I  have  heard 
of  Thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear ;  but  now  mine  eye  seeth 
Thee :  wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes.' 

With  the  grace  and  tenderness  characteristic  of  the  divine 


VER.  10.]  Submissio7i  to  God.  329 

word,  even  in  its  stern  passages,  the  injunction  '  Humble 
yourselves '  has  appended  to  it  a  gracious  promise ;  so  that 
the  paragraph  which  has  been  so  searching  and  scathing  lays 
firm  hold  of  the  heart  at  its  close  with  'bands  of  love.' 
'  Humble  yourselves  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,'  as  in  the  light 
of  His  ineffable  excellence  you  see  your  ignorance,  and  sin, 
and  weakness, — '  and  He  shall  lift  yoii  np '  to  true  though  as 
yet  imperfect  knowledge,  and  holiness,  and  strength  here, — 
and  yonder  to  the  '  open  vision '  of  the  '  Altogether  Lovely,'  to 
absolute  spiritual  beauty,  to  strength  that  will  enable  you  to 
'  serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple '  and  to  bear  the 
*  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.' 


330         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 


XXIII. 
EVIL  SPEAKING  AND  JUDGING. 

'  Speak  not  evil  one  of  another,  brethren.  He  that  speaketh  evil  of  his 
brother,  and  judgeth  his  brother,  speaketh  evil  of  the  law,  and  judgeth 
the  lav/  :  but  if  thou  judge  the  law,  thou  art  not  a  doer  of  the  law,  but 
a  judge.  12  There  is  one  lawgiver,  who  is  able  to  save  and  to  de- 
stroy :  who  art  thou  that  judgest  another?' — ^James  iv.  ii,  12. 

THE  substance  of  the  paragraph  immediately  preceding 
these  words  was,  that  however  little  worldly  persons 
may  think  it,  yet,  when  we  look  closely  into  the  matter,  we 
find  the  spirit  of  worldliness  to  be  an  arrogant  assumption 
of  being  independent  of  God,  and  that  the  only  radical  cure 
for  it — the  only  course  to  be  pursued  by  those  who  have  been 
aroused  to  a  conviction  of  its  influence  over  them — is  to 
'  submit  themselves  to  God,'  to  '  humble  themselves '  sincerely 
and  fully  before  Him.  James  proceeds  now  to  give  one  or 
two  illustrations  of  forms  that  worldliness  often  takes,  and  had 
in  fact  taken  among  many  of  his  first  readers, — showing  how 
in  these  a  want  of  reverence  for  God  is  involved,  and  that 
consequently  true  submission  to  Him  will  exhibit  itself  in  a 
careful  avoidance  of  such  conduct. 

We  have  first  a  command  to  abstain  from  detraction  and 
calumny :  '  Speak  not  evil  one  of  another,  brethren^  You  will 
remember  that  the  apostle  has  spoken  already  on  sins  of  the 
tongue  at  considerable  length,  in  the  third  chapter.  His  ex- 
hortation here,  however,  is  not  a  mere  repetition  of  anything 
said  there,  but  has  a  distinctive  character.  In  the  observa- 
tions made  in  the  third  chapter,  he  had  main  if  not  exclusive 
reference,  as  is  plain  on  a  careful  study,  to  the  various  vices 
of  speech  that  spring  out  of  bigotry  and  contention  in  religious 


VER,  I  I.J     Evil  speaking  and  fudging.  331 

and  ecclesiastical  matters ;  the  first  injunction  of  the  chapter, 
'  My  brethren,  be  not  many  masters'  ('  teachers'),  being  a  kind 
of  key-word  to  the  whole.  Here,  on  the  other  hand,  as  we 
see,  his  precept  forms  part  of  an  address  on  worldliness,  and 
thus  bears  primarily  on  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life — com- 
mon talk  on  common  matters.  Even  professedly  Christian 
society  in  the  apostle's  days,  it  seems,  needed  the  exhortation 
to  avoid  evil-speaking  ;  and  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
in  every  age  of  the  church  this  fault  has  been  a  prevalent  one  : 
certainly  our  own  age  is  not  free  from  it. 

The  motives  by  which  people  are  led  to  it  are  various. 
Definite  malig?iiiy  and  vindidiveness  sometimes,  no  doubt.  On 
the  ground  of  some  real  or  fancied  wrong  done  him,  a  man 
hates  another;  and  the  simplest,  readiest,  and  most  efficient 
way  of  taking  revenge  is  to  circulate  a  story  to  the  other's 
discredit.  In  other  cases  etivy  is  the  impelling  influence. 
A  man  prospers  and  enjoys  repute  among  his  fellows  more 
than  we  do  ;  and  what  the  '  evil  eye  '  has  seen,  really  or  in 
imagination,  the  venomous  tongue  tells,  that  this  fair  repute 
may  be  tarnished.  There  are  persons  in  the  world — probably 
most  of  us  have  met  individuals  of  the  kind — of  so  mean  and 
wretched  a  spirit,  that  any  success  of  others  is  felt  by  them  as 
if  it  were  a  wrong  to  themselves ;  and  thus  their  discourse  is 
ever  full  of  slander  and  detraction.  With  envy,  sometimes 
di7-ect  self-seeking  is  connected.  Suspicions  against  a  man  are 
thrown  out,  or  a  false  or  exaggerated  story  is  put  into  circula- 
tion, in  the  hope  that  certain  advantages  in  the  way  of  busi- 
ness, for  example,  may  thus  be  taken  away  from  the  object  of 
the  calumny,  and  come  to  his  detractor.  Cases  of  surrender 
to  the  influence  of  such  motives  as  these,  however,  are  rare, 
one  may  reasonably  hope,  among  professing  Christians,  and 
even  among  the  higher  class  of  mere  men  of  the  world.  But 
one  motive  operating  often  in  all  classes  of  society  is  vanity — 
the  desire  for  a  little  prominence  in  company — which  scandal 
is  found  to  give  most  easily.  It  is  an  unhappy  fact,  patent 
enough  to  all  who  think  on  the  subject,  that  the  average  tone 
of  conversation  among  us  is  low.     Through  a  want  of  spiri- 


2,2,2         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes,     [ch.  iv. 

tuality  or  of  general  intelligence,  or  of  both,  neither  religious 
subjects  nor  really  important  secular  subjects  find  much  wel- 
come in  general  social  talk.  They  are  either  not  introduced 
at  all,  or,  if  they  are,  the  conversation  soon  languishes.  But 
everything  that  tells  against  the  personal  character  of  an  absent 
acquaintance,  or  that  tends  to  exhibit  him  in  a  ridiculous  light, 
is  generally  received  with  much  favour,  and  felt  to  impart  a 
pleasant  piquancy  to  a  conversation  perhaps  otherwise  dull. 
Thus  it  happens,  that  for  a  man  who  loves  a  temporary  pro- 
minence, and  is  not  scrupulous  in  regard  to  his  means,  no  way 
of  gaining  it  is  better  suited  than  evil-speaking ;  the  more  par- 
ticularly as  there  is  no  kind  of  subject  on  which  it  is  so  easy 
to  seem  smart  as  in  the  discussion  of  personal  character,  where, 
falling  on  the  ears  of  listeners  somewhat  sympathetic,  severe 
remarks  and  exaggerated  sketches  pass  for  clever,  which  on 
any  other  subject  would  be  seen  to  be  simply  stupid.  There 
can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  vanity  is  a  very  common  cause 
of  evil-speaking.  However  destitute  a  person  may  be  of  re- 
spectable intellectual  resources  for  shining  in  society,  he  can 
at  least  calumniate  or  deride  his  neighbour.  But  probably, 
after  all,  most  of  the  ordinary  calumnious  gossip  of  society  is 
to  be  ascribed  to  the  mere  desire  to  talk,  even  when  all  inno- 
cent materials  for  talk  are  wanting.  People  are  brought  to- 
gether who  seem  to  have  no  objects  of  common  interest,  or 
what  they  have  are  soon  exhausted ;  still  the  fire  of  conversa- 
tion must  be  maintained,  and,  as  other  fuel  does  not  present 
itself,  personal  character  is  thrown  in.  This,  beyond  ques- 
tion, is  the  trvie  origin  of  much  calumnious  discourse, — which 
yet  in  such  a  case  is  not  the  less  really  a  sin,  that  there 
is  no  conscious  malevolence  ;  for  there  ought  to  be  moral 
energy  to  act  on  the  principle  that  silence,  or  innocent  dul- 
ness,  is  immeasurably  better  and  nobler  than  the  propagation 
of  what  may  injure,  and  cannot  by  possibility  do  good. 

The  sin  of  evil-speaking  exhibits  itself  mainly  in  these  forms  : 
the  propagation  of  what  is  known  to  be  a  calumnious  lie  ;  the 
exaggeration  or  distortion  of  truth;  the  hasty  passing  on  of 
what  may  or  may  not  be  truth,  but  certainly  has  not  been  in- 


VER.  1 1.]     Evil  speaking  and  ytidging.  333 

quired  into ;  and  the  needless  telling  of  what  is  known  to  be 
truth.  The  first  of  these  is  simply  diabolical.  To  Satan — who, 
'  when  he  speaketh  a  lie,  speaketh  of  his  own,  for  he  is  a  liar, 
and  the  father  of  it ' — no  work  is  more  congenial  than  wilful 
calumny.  In  Eden  he  dared  to  whisper  into  the  ear  of  Eve 
insinuations  of  insincerity  even  against  God  ;  and  he  has  dili- 
gently tried  (ah,  how  successfully !)  to  persuade  her  children 
that  their  Divine  King  has  the  spirit  of  '  an  austere  man,  taking 
up  that  He  laid  not  down,  and  reaping  that  He  did  not  sow.' 
His  hatred  to  man,  too,  has  no  manifestation  more  distinctly 
indicating  his  bitterness  and  his  alienation  from  all  good,  than 
when  he  acts  as  'the  accuser  of  the  brethren.'  No  character- 
istic of  our  spiritual  adversary  is  more  prominent  than  his  love 
of  calumny  ;  and,  indeed,  his  very  name  '  devil '  means  '  the 
calumniator.'  In  no  way,  then,  can  a  man  more  distinctly 
prove  himself  a  '  child  of  the  devil,'  who  bears  his  father's 
image,  than  by  inventing  and  propagating  slanderous  lies.  It 
is  difficult  to  suppose  that  any  person  who,  by  the  utmost 
energy  of  self-deception,  can  fancy  himself  a  Christian,  could 
be  guilty  of  this  form  of  evil-speaking.  But  the  other  forms 
of  the  sin  are  certainly  not  unknown  in  the  church  of  Christ  : 
it  is  to  be  feared,  indeed,  that,  in  various  degrees  of  heinous- 
ness,  they  are  far  from  uncommon.  And  the  debasing  influ- 
ence of  this  sin  cannot  be  overstated.  You  all  know  (for  you 
have  all  met  men  of  the  kind)  the  ineffable  meanness  of  the 
habitual  detractor.  His  whole  moral  nature  is  enervated,  and 
everything  like  manliness  and  healthy  tone  taken  away.  In 
immediate  connection  with  praise  he  insinuates  his  depreciatory 
hints,  as  poison  may  be  given  in  perfume.  All  of  us  know  the 
'  but '  for  which  his  commendations  are  meant  to  prepare  the 
way.  He  loves  vague  generalities  too,  uttered  in  such  a  con- 
nection that  suggestions  of  evil  will  certainly  be  taken  as  point- 
ing in  a  particular  direction ;  whilst  yet  refutation  can  hardly 
be  given,  nor  the  charge  of  personal  calumny  brought  home. 

Into  exaggeration  and  distortion  of  truth  all  of  us  are  ex- 
tremely apt  to  be  drawn,  often  unconsciously.  There  are  very 
few  things  more  difficult  than  to  tell  the  exact  truth  on  any  matter 


334         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  Jajnes.     [ch.  iv. 

of  complexity  and  delicacy.  Misconception,  and  prejudice, 
and  excited  feeling,  frequently  colour  and  distort  to  our  minds 
what  has  been  told  to  us  or  observed  by  us ;  and  therefore 
thoughtfulness,  and  self-control,  and  knowledge  of  the  force  of 
words  are  all  required,  in  a  high  degree,  in  order  to  the  accu- 
rate relation  of  anything  that  has  to  do  with  personal  charac- 
ter. Any  one  of  us  would  probably  be  astonished,  and  often 
deeply  pained,  if  a  story  bearing  on  character  which  he  had 
himself  told,  honestly,  and,  as  he  supposed,  accurately,  were 
heard  by  him  again,  after  it  had  been  told  two  or  three  times, 
— each  propagator  contributing  his  quota  of  unconscious  dis- 
tortion. Consideration  of  this  hazard  of  unintentional  mis- 
representation might  well  deter  men  of  a  truthful  spirit  from 
speaking  on  matters  in  which  such  misrepresentation  would  do 
harm.  But  even  supposing  that  we  knew  with  absolute  cer- 
tainty some  evil  regarding  a  brother,  and  were  sure  that  we 
could  tell  it  without  swerving  a  hair's-breadth  from  the  narrow 
path  of  truthful  representation,  yet  another  question  would 
enter :  Is  there  need  for  telling  it  ?  The  spirit  of  Christianity 
very  plainly  interposes  a  prohibition,  unless  there  is  need ;  and 
what  constitutes  need  must  be  decided  by  the  Christian  judg- 
ment for  itself,  in  regard  to  each  case  as  it  arises.  The  prin- 
ciples taught  by  the  gospel  of  love  on  this  whole  subject  may 
perhaps  be  reduced  to  these  :  that  we  should  never  believe  evil 
of  another,  until  we  cannot  help  it ;  that  we  should  never  say 
anything  against  another,  unless  we  are  sure  that  duty  obliges 
us ;  and  that  if  we  feel  sure  that  duty  obliges  us  so  to  speak, 
then  we  should  tell  of  the  evil  in  a  spirit  of  love  and  of  sorrow. 
The  apostle's  exhortation  here  has  primary  reference  to  the 
conduct  of  Christians  to  each  other ;  and  the  argument  enforc- 
ing it,  which  is  involved  in  the  word  of  address,  '  brethren^  he 
exhibits  fully  and  impressively  by  the  repetition  of  the  designa- 
tion :  *  He  that  speaketh  evil  of  his  brother,  and  judgeth  his 
brother,  speaketh  evil  of  the  law.'  By  the  use  of  this  word  he 
calls  on  them  to  bethink  themselves  how  grossly  inconsistent 
it  is  to  say  in  their  prayers,  '  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven,' 
and  yet  calumniate  a  member  of  the  brotherhood, — to  profess 


VER.  II.]     Evil  Speaking  and  yttdging.  335 

love  to  '  Him  Avhich  begat,'  and  show  hatred  to  '  him  that  is 
begotten  of  Him.' 

The  expressed  prohibition  in  the  eleventh  verse  is  of  evil- 
speaking  ;  but  in  the  argument  which  follows  there  is  obviously 
implied  also  a  prohibition  of  'judging:'  'He  that  speaketh 
evil  of  his  brother,  z.x\di  Judgetk  his  brother,  speaketh  evil  of  the 
law,  and  judgeth  the  law.'  The  apostle  assumes  that  in  those  to 
whom  he  writes— rational  beings,  who  profess  to  feel  themselves 
responsible  to  God  for  their  views,  and  feelings,  and  conduct — 
a  'judgment'  by  the  mind  must  be  the  basis  on  which  any  ex- 
pressed opinion  regarding  character  rests.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
would  it  not  be  flattery  often  to  talk  of  a  'judgment'  of  any 
kind  preceding  the  utterance  of  calumny  ?  Is  not  detraction 
in  many  cases  the  merest  parrot-prattle,  dishonouring  to  us  as 
reasonable  creatures,  as  well  as  hurtful  to  our  brethren  and 
dishonouring  to  the  law  of  God?  The  reference  to  'judging' 
is  introduced  partly  to  lead  into  the  course  of  argument  the 
apostle  has  in  view,  but  partly  also  to  suggest  that  'judgment ' 
is  wrong  in  itself,  whether  it  induce  evil-speaking  or  not.  This 
latter  object  is  more  distinctly  shown  when,  in  accordance  with 
the  reading  of  the  original  text  which  is  found  in  the  oldest 
manuscripts,  and  has  been  received  by  the  modern  critical 
editors,  we  substitute  'or'  for  'and'  in  the  beginning  of  the 
second  clause  of  the  eleventh  verse  :  '  He  that  speaketh  evil  of 
his  brother,  or  judgeth  his  brother.'  The  force  of  the  state- 
ment that  it  is  wrong  to  '  judge  another '  is  plainly  limited, — 
the  context  showing,  and  the  good  sense  of  every  reader  at 
once  perceiving,  that  here,  as  often  in  Scripture,  by  the  simple 
'judgment'  is  meant  unfavourable  judgment.  In  the  apostle's 
precept,  moreover,  as  in  that  of  Jesus  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  which  is  clearly  in  his  mind,  '  Judge  not,  that  ye  be 
not  judged,'  there  is  no  prohibition  of  our  coming  to  con- 
clusions regarding  the  character  of  men  from  their  avowed 
principles  and  visible  conduct.  'That  would  have  been  the 
enjoining  of  a  kind  of  physical  impossibility.  You  might  as 
well  forbid  me  to  have  an  unfavourable  opinion  of  a  fox  and 
wolf,  as  characters  to  be  detested  and  avoided,  as  of  some  men 


33^         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

whom  I  know  personally,  and  many  of  whom  I  have  sure  in- 
formation.'^ Indeed,  to  'judge'  according  to  avowed  prin- 
ciples and  visible  conduct  is  a  diity :  '  Beware  of  false  prophets, 
which  come  to  you  in  sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  they  are 
ravening  wolves  :  ye  shall  knoiv  them  by  their  fruits.^  But  to 
'  judge '  of  motives  and  character,  without  tangible  and  most 
convincing  evidence,  this  is  a  sin.  It  is  sinful  to  do  it,  even 
if  the  judgment  be  kept  to  ourselves.  The  effect  on  our  own 
souls  is  evil  —  narrowing,  chilling,  withering ;  and  evil  is 
wrought,  too,  against  him  whom  we  judge  (at  least  if  he  and 
we  stand  at  all  in  close  relations),  because  he  is  denied  the 
benefit  of  a  love  and  fellowship  which,  it  may  be,  God  brought 
us  near  to  him  specially  that  we  might  have  the  opportunity  of 
giving  for  his  help,  whereas  we  'pass  by  on  the  other  side.' 

In  support  of  his  prohibition  of  evil-speaking  and  judging, 
James  had  many  lines  of  argument  open  to  him.  In  that 
which  has  been  chosen,  he  sets  forth  two  grounds  for  his  coun- 
sel. The  first  is,  that  the  conduct  which  he  forbids  involves  a 
condemnation  of  God's  law :  '  He  that  speaketh  evil  of  his 
brother,  and  judgeth  his  brother,  speaketh  evil  of  the  law,  and 
judgeth  thelaw.^  By  some  commentators  it  has  been  thought 
that  James  is  here  speaking  with  reference  mainly  to  a  parti- 
cular class  of  uncharitable  judgments  and  utterances, — namely, 
such  as  were  founded  on  differences  of  opinion  regarding  the 
obligation  of  Christians  to  retain  the  ceremonial  observances 
of  Judaism ;  and  that  the  argument  here  employed  has  this 
meaning  :  '  Because  those  who  blame  their  brethren  for  giving 
up  the  old  ritualism,  thereby  condemn  the  distinctive  law  of  the 
new  economy,  which  does  not  require  it.'  This  view  lies  under 
these  fatal  objections,  that  it  gives  an  altogether  exceptional 
application  to  the  term  '  law,'  and  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
context,  or  in  the  whole  Epistle,  to  suggest  in  the  slightest 
degree  that  limitation  of  the  precept  here  supposed. ^     James's 

^  Dr.  William  Anderson,  of  Glasgow,  in  his  admirable  discourse  entitled 
'Uncharitable  Judgments  Judged,'  printed  in  the  second  series  of  his  Ser- 
mons, 

^  The  view  of  the  meaning  here  controverted  is  given,  with  some  varieties 


VER.  1 1.]     Evil  SpeaJdng  and  yndging.  337 

use  of  the  word  '  law '  elsewhere  gives  us  every  reason  to 
believe  that  here  he  means  by  it  the  grand  code  of  moral 
obligation  written  on  man's  heart  at  the  beginning,  taught  in 
all  Scripture, — the  oracles  of  the  Old  Covenant  as  well  as 
those  of  the  New,  but  most  fully  exhibited  in  the  teaching  and 
example  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  apostle  lifts  up  the  thoughts 
of  his  readers  to  the  relation  in  which  their  conduct  stands  to 
this  great  law.  '  Judging  a  brother,  when  Christ  has  expressly 
said  to  you,  Judge  not,  is  practically  judging  and  condemning 
His  precept,  and  the  great  code  to  which  it  belongs — declar- 
ing the  divine  law  to  be  undeserving  of  your  obedience.'  Very 
similarly  one  might  say,  '  To  insult  your  neighbour  is  to  insult 
God's  law,  and  therefore  to  insult  God  ;'  and  other  series  of 
the  same  kind  will  readily  suggest  themselves.  It  is  obviously 
true,  not  of  uncharitable  judgment  merely,  but  of  every  sin, 
that  the  man  who  commits  it  practically  judges  and  condemns 
God's  law;  but,  as  obviously,  the  remark  comes  in  with  a  point 
and  power  in  the  present  connection  that  would  be  lacking 
elsewhere.  In  regard  to  such  offences  as  evil-speaking  and 
harsh  judgments,  moreover,  it  is  peculiarly  needful  to  bring  in 
the  truth  that  they  fall  fully  under  the  sweep  of  divine  law. 
The  men  of  the  world,  and  in  many  cases  Christians  also, 
through  the  influence  of  worldly  society,  are  apt  to  think  of 
such  conduct  as  belonging  to  a  kind  of  moral  neutral  ground  ; 
so  that,  whilst  certainly  not  right,  it  is  yet  not  decidedly  wrong. 

of  detail,  by  Grotius,  Benson,  Rosenmiiller,  Hottinger,  and  others.  Dean 
Alford  explains  'judgeth  the  law'  thus— 'viz.,  by  setting  himself  up  over 
that  law,  —  as  pronouncing  upon  its  observance  or  non-observance  by 
another  ; '  his  meaning  being  further  exhibited  by  a  note  on  the  next  clause  : 
'  Seeing  that  he  who  judges,  judges  not  only  the  man  before  him,  but  the 
law  also  ;  for  he  pronounces  not  only  on  the  fact,  but  on  that  fact  being  or 
not  being  a  breach  of  the  law.'  That  is  to  say,  a  man  who  'judges  w/^^r/ 
the  law  IS,'  'judges  the  law.'  But  is  this  the  natural  meaning  of  'judging 
the  law  ?'  Must  not  these  words  mean  rather,  '  judging  7a/iai  the  laiu  shauld 
be, '  '  judging  whether  the  law  is  a  right  law  or  a  wrong  ? '  Every  right- 
minded  man  is  continually  for  himself  judging  what  the  law  is,  and  yet  surely 
is  very  far  from  'judging  the  law'  in  the  sense  in  which  James  employs  the 
expression. 

Y 


338         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  iv. 

Now,  as  was  shown  in  the  beginning  of  the  lecture,  James's 
purpose  in  this  section  of  the  Epistle  is  to  exhibit  the  spirit  of 
worldliness  as  being  essentially  arrogance  towards  God,  insub- 
missiveness  to  the  Divine  King ;  and  in  accordance  with  this 
purpose,  he  tells  his  readers  here  that  the  practice  of  detraction, 
which  they  considered  a  mere  trifle  or  peccadillo,  was  really  a 
breach  of  the  King's  law,  and  thus  a  '  judging '  and  a  defiance 
of  it  and  of  Him. 

The  apostle's  second  argument  in  support  of  the  prohibition 
he  has  given,  is  that  the  conduct  forbidden  involves  the  assump- 
tion of  a  position  which  belongs  to  God  alone:  '  But  if  thou  Judge 
the  law,  thou  art  not  a  doer  of  the  law,  but  a  judge.  There  is  One 
Lawgiver,  who  is  able  to  save  and  to  destroy :  who  art  thou  that 
judgest  another  V  More  exactly  rendered,  and  with  the  trans- 
lation introduced  of  words  contained  in  the  oldest  manuscripts, 
the  last  part  of  the  sentence  runs  thus  :  '  One  is  the  Lawgiver 
and  Judge,  He  who  is  able  to  save  and  to  destroy ;  but  thou — 
who  art  thou  that  judgest  thy  neighbour?'  According  to  the 
course  of  thought,  the  contrast  in  the  first  part  appears  not  to 
be  between  '  a  doer  of  the  law '  and  '  a  judge  (of  the  law),'  but 
between  ' a  doer  of  the  law'  (that  is,  a  subject,  one  under  law, 
whose  office  in  regard  to  it  is  simply  to  do  what  it  enjoins) 
and  *a  judge,'  taken  in  the  most  general  sense, — one  belonging 
to  an  entirely  different  category  from  '  doers,' — one  whose  office 
is  not  to  obey  laws,  but  to  judge  men  and  laws ;  for  the  con- 
nection shows  that  '  a  judge '  pure  and  simple  is  thought  of, 
controlled  by  no  authority,  above  even  the  law.  The  words 
of  the  twelfth  verse  must  be  felt  by  every  reader  to  come  in 
with  singular  power, — to  be  most  solemn,  and  striking,  and 
silencing.  ''One  is  the  Lawgiver  and  Judge:''  One,  not  many 
neighbours,  with  varying  standards  of  right:  One,  to  whom 
should  converge  the  thoughts,  the  reverence,  the  obedience 
of  all,  seeing  that  with  Him  we  all  'have  to  do:'  One  who, 
being  '  Lawgiver '  as  well  as  '■Judged  knows  His  own  law  per- 
fectly, and  can  therefore  administer  it  with  perfect  wisdom 
and  justice ;  and  whose  decisions  carry  power  with  them  at 
every  point  and  for  ever,  seeing  that  *  He  is  able  to  save  and  to 


VER.  12.]     Evil  Speaking  aitd  ytcdging.  339 

destroy.^  Then  comes  the  withering  contrast,  '■But  t/iou' — a 
creature  with  no  wisdom,  no  hoHness,  no  power, — '■  thoii^  igno- 
rant in  great  measure  ahke  of  the  law  and  of  men's  hearts  and 
circumstances,  thyself  every  day  a  transgressor  of  the  law,  and 
unable,  even  when  most  favourably  placed,  to  make  thy  deci- 
sions effective  beyond  a  narrow  sphere  and  a  little  time — '  who 
art  thou  that  judgcst  thy  neighboicr  V 


340        Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,    [ch.  iv. 


XXIV. 
VAIN  CONFIDENCE  REGARDING  THE  FUTURE. 

'  Go  to  now,  ye  that  say,  To-day,  or  to-morrow,  we  will  go  into  such  a 
city,  and  continue  there  a  year,  and  buy  and  sell,  and  get  gain ;  14 
Whereas  ye  know  not  what  shall  be  on  the  morrow.  For  what  is 
your  life?  It  is  even  a  vapour,  that  appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and 
then  vanisheth  away.  15  For  that  ye  ought  to  say.  If  the  Lord  will, 
we  shall  live,  and  do  this,  or  that.  16  But  now  ye  rejoice  in  your 
boastings:  all  such  rejoicing  is  evil.  17  Therefore  to  him  that 
knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin.' — ^James  I  v. 
13-17- 

IN  this  paragraph  the  apostle  brings  forward  another  ex- 
ample illustrating  the  truth  which  is  the  central  thought 
of  this  chapter,  that  the  root  of  all  worldliness  is  pride,  arro- 
gance of  heart  towards  God,  and  that  consequently  the  only 
effectual  remedy  for  it — the  plain,  and  instant  duty  of  every 
Christian  who  has  in  any  degree  allowed  a  worldly  spirit 
to  gain  power  over  him — is  to  'submit  himself  to  God,'  to 
*  humble  himself  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.'  The  form  of  world- 
liness of  which  he  here  speaks  is  presumptuous  confidence  in 
the  future,  calculating  on  time  to  come  without  reference  to 
God's  providence ;  as  if  the  future  and  all  that  it  brings  with  it 
were  in  our  hands. 

The  expression  rendered  '  Go  to  notv,'  which  occurs  in  the 
New  Testament  only  here  and  in  the  first  verse  of  the  next 
chapter,  is  a  phrase  of  a  rousing  character,  calling  attention  to 
some  exhortation  to  follow,  like  the  shaking  of  a  sleeper  to 
wake  him  that  he  may  hear  tidings  of  moment.  In  the  pre- 
sent instance  the  exhortation  is  not  expressed,  but  implied, 
particularly  in  the  last  three  verses  of  the  paragraph.     As  in 


VER.  1 4.]  Vain  Confidence  regarding  the  Future.  341 

the  first  chapter  of  Isaiah  God's  appeal  of  love  is  introduced 
by  '  Come  and  let  us  reason  together,'  so  here,  sorhewhat  simi- 
larly, the  apostle  says  in  substance,  'Look  now,  and  bethink 
yourselves  regarding  your  religious  position;  bring  up  your 
conduct  before  the  tribunal  of  reason  and  conscience,  and 
there  as  in  God's  sight  pronounce  judgment,  while  still  repent- 
ance and  hope  are  open  to  you.'  The  persons  here  addressed 
are  merchants  of  a  kind  who  have  in  all  ages  been  found  in 
great  numbers  in  the  East.  In  Dothan,  the  sons  of  Jacob 
'  hfted  up  their  eyes  and  looked,  and  behold  a  company 
of  Ishmaelites  came  from  Gilead,  with  their  camels,  bearing 
spicery,  and  balm,  and  myrrh,  going  to  carry  it  down  to 
Egypt.'  So  still  the  business  of  a  most  respectable  and  in- 
telligent class  of  merchants  is  to  convey  the  products  of  one 
region  to  some  distant  city,  where  they  remain  until  they  have 
sold  their  goods,  and  bought  others  suitable  for  another  distant 
market ;  and  thus  the  operation  is  repeated,  until  perhaps  after 
a  considerable  number  of  years  the  trader  is  enabled  to  re- 
turn prosperously  to  his  home.^  Such  evidently  are  the  traders 
here.  The  reading  '  to-day  and  to-morrow,'  which  has  better 
manuscript  authority  than  that  given  in  the  authorized  version, 
sets  forth  with  peculiar  liveliness  the  completeness  of  the  vain 
confidence  described — the  definiteness  of  the  arrangements 
which  these  merchants  make  for  the  future,  without  any  thought 
of  God.  '  We  will  journey  to-day  and  to-morrow  to  such  a  city ' 
(to  Antioch,  or  Damascus,  or  Alexandria),  ^  and  will  sj>end 
there  one  year  ^  (the  ^ one^  hinting  at  further  plans),  '■  and  will 
trade^  and  get  gain^  An  observant  reader  will  see  a  peculiar 
force  in  the  '  ands,^  accumulating  one  presumptuous  expecta- 
tion on  another. 

'  Whereas  ye  know  not  what  shall  be  on  the  morrow^  '  You 
form  plans  with  confident  security  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
What  certainty  have  you  that  your  trafficking  in  that  city  will 
be  gainful  ?  What  certainty  have  you  that  you  will  remain 
alive  in  that  city  a  year ;  or  that,  if  you  do,  you  will  be  in 

*  See  T/ie  Pictorial  Bible,  or  Roberts's  Oriental  Illustrations  of  the 
Scriptures,  on  this  verse. 


342         Lectures  07t  the  Epistle  of  yames.     [ch.  iv. 

health  to  buy  and  sell?  What  certainty  have  you  that  you 
will  ever  reach  that  city?  You  say,  To-day  and  to-morrow 
we  will  go ;  but  the  wise  king  said  long  ago,  "  Boast  not 
thyself  of  to-morrow,  for  thou  knowest  not  what  a  day  may 
bring  forth."  You  may  go  from  your  homes  healthy  and 
hopeful,  with  your  servants  and  your  train  of  camels  ;  and  ere 
another  day  dawn,  robbery  or  hurricane,  sickness  or  accident, 
any  one  of  innumerable  circumstances,  may  have  blighted 
your  prospects  utterly.  Nay,  you  yourselves  may  have  gone 
away  for  ever  from  all  buying  and  selling  and  getting  gain,  to 
meet  God  ;  for  what  is  your  life — of  what  character  or  quality? 
Altogether  untrustworthy  in  duration,  you  know  \v€i\.,for  it  is  a 
vapour '  (or,  still  more  pointedly  and  strikingly,  according  to 
what  is  very  probably  the  original  reading,  'ye  are  a  vapour') 
*  t/iat  appearethfor  a  little  time,  and  then  va?iisheth  away.  From 
the  moist  ground  the  vapour  rises  at  the  first  touch  of  the 
m.oming  sun,  and  glides  gracefully  up  the  mountain-side,  soften- 
ing the  rugged  outlines  of  the  cliffs  with  a  robe  of  beauty.  But 
the  very  beams  that  called  it  forth,  scatter  it  when  they  gain 
strength.  At  noon  you  look  for  it,  but  it  is  gone,  and  the 
place  that  knew  it  knows  it  no  more.  Such  is  your  life ;  and 
yet  on  this  transitory  mist  you,  in  foolish  self-dependence,  build 
great  towers  of  hope,  as  if  it  were  enduring  as  the  everlasting 
hills.  Have  you  never  heard  what  the  Saviour  said  of  a  man 
whose  ground  brought  forth  plentifully,  and  who  promised  his 
soul  much  goods  for  many  years :  "  Thou  fool,  this  night  thy 
soul  shall  be  required  of  thee  ?  " ' 

Treating  the  fourteenth  verse  as  parenthetical,  the  apostle 
makes  the  fifteenth  in  form  a  continuation  of  the  sentence 
begun  in  the  thirteenth,  thus :  *  Go  to  now,  ye  that  say, 
To-day  and  to-morrow  we  will  go  to  such  a  city,  and  continue 
there  one  year,  and  buy  and  sell,  and  get  gain ;  for  that  ye 
ought  to  say  (more  exactly,  "instead  of  saying").  If  the  Lord 
will,  we  shall  live,  a?id  do  this,  or  that^  This  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  a  command  that,  whenever  we  have  occasion  to 
speak  of  purposes  or  expectations,  we  should  utter  these  words, 
or  words  of  similar  import.     Beyond  doubt,  the  constant  use 


VER.  i6.]  Vain  Co7ifidence  regarding  the  Future.  343 

of  such  language  with  respect  to  trifling  affairs  would,  in 
creatures  such  as  we  are,  and  situated  as  we  are,  have  a 
tei^dency  to  rub  off  reverence  for  God  and  His  holy  name  ; 
and  thus  the  practice  might  very  easily  degenerate  into  an 
act  of  mere  superstitious  reliance  on  a  form,  when  the  feeling 
that  had  been  the  life  of  the  form  was  gone.  Taking  the 
commentary  of  apostolic  usage,  we  find  that  the  same  who  says 
to  the  Corinthians,  '  I  will  come  to  you  shortly,  if  the  Lord 
will'  (i  Cor.  iv.  19) ;  and  again,  'I  trust  to  tarry  a  while  with 
you,  if  the  Lord  permit '  (i  Cor.  xvi.  7),  says  also  to  them  in 
another  place  simply,  '  I  will  come  unto  you  when  I  shall  pass 
through  Macedonia,  for  I  do  pass  through  Macedonia'  (i  Cor. 
xvi.  5) ;  and  to  the  Romans,  'When  I  have  performed  this,  I 
will  come  by  you  into  Spain'  (Rom.  xv.  28).  The  meaning 
of  our  apostle's  injunction  is  plainly  this,  that  at  all  times, 
in  reference  to  everything,  when  looking  forward,  we  should 
remember  reverentially,  and  thankfully,  and  lovingly,  God's 
providential  government  of  the  world,  and  our  absolute  de- 
pendence on  His  will  for  continued  life  and  health,  and  for 
the  accomplishment  of  any  purpose  or  expectation ;  and  that 
it  will  be  well  both  for  ourselves  and  for  others,  if  we  often,  on 
such  occasions  as  the  Christian  judgment  (or  rather,  perhaps, 
the  delicate  Christian  instinct)  suggests,  express  this  con- 
viction of  dependence  by  some  such  phrase  as  '  If  the  Lord 
will.' 

''But  now  ye  rejoice  in  your  boastings :  all  such  rejoicing  is 
evil.''  '  But,  as  things  really  are,  instead  of  thus  humbly  and 
gratefully  acknowledging  your  dependence  on  God,  in  your 
vainglorious  dreams  you  exult  and  boast,  speaking  high 
swelling  words  of  confidence  regarding  the  future  and  your 
doings  in  it,  your  buying  and  seUing  and  getting  gain.  All 
such  arrogant  exultation  is  evil.'  There  is  an  exultation,  a 
rejoicing,  a  glorying,  which  is  good.  'My  soul  shall  make 
her  boast  in  the  Lord,'  David  sings,  leading  the  universal  choir 
of  believing  hearts;  and  Paul  'gloried,'  as  every  true  believer 
glories  with  him,  '  in  the  cross  of  Christ.'  But  all  such  glory- 
ing as  we  have  here,  boasting  in  self  and  not  in  God,  through 


344        Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes,      [ch.  iv. 

proud  presumption  of  secure  life,  and  health,  and  success, — 
this  is  evil:  it  dishonours  God,  it  saps  everything  of  spirituality 
that  there  may  be  in  us,  and  it  exerts  a  baneful  influence 
around. 

Now,  brethren,  what  James  wrote  to  the  merchants  among 
the  Jewish  Christians  of  his  day,  is  nowise  less  applicable  in 
our  time.  The  forms  of  human  life  vary;  the  texture  takes 
different  shapes  and  hues  in  different  ages  and  countries ;  but 
the  spirit  is  substantially  the  same,  the  hazards  for  the  soul 
the  same,  the  refuge  for  the  soul  the  same.  In  an  age  like 
ours,  when  natural  science  is  every  day  so  greatly  increasing 
the  means  of  money-making,  when  trade  has  so  many  ramifi- 
cations, and,  connected  with  it,  so  much  that  is  exciting,  there 
is  very  great  peril  of  a  man's  losing  the  thought  of  God,  and, 
amid  the  whirr  of  commercial  machinery,  failing  to  hear  the 
'  still  small  voice '  which  reminds  us  that  '  life,  and  breath,  and 
all  things'  are  at  His  disposal.  For  our  time,  therefore,  the 
apostle's  words  have,  if  possible,  even  greater  force  than  they 
had  for  his  own.  And  the  teaching  is  not  for  merchants  only. 
All  kinds  of  anticipations  of  the  future  in  which  worldly  desires 
of  any  sort  come  into  play,  involve  the  same  danger.  '  The 
mother  of  Sisera  looked  out  at  a  window,  and  cried  through 
the  lattice,  Why  is  his  chariot  so  long  in  coming  ?  why  tarry 
the  wheels  of  his  chariots  ?  Her  wise  ladies  answered  her, 
yea,  she  returned  answer  to  herself.  Have  they  not  sped? 
have  they  not  divided  the  prey?  to  Sisera  a  prey  of  divers 
colours,  a  prey  of  divers  colours  of  needlework,  of  divers 
colours  of  needlework  on  both  sides,  meet  for  the  necks  of 
them  that  take  the  spoil?'  Nothing  but  worldly  hope,  worldly 
confidence — no  thought  of  God  or  His  providence ;  but  mean- 
while the  enemy  of  the  Lord  has  perished. 

'All  such  rejoicing' — all  arrogant  forecasting  in  any  sphere 
and  on  any  subject — '  is  evil.'  But  to  the  energetic  prosecution 
of  all  the  activities  of  life,  to  sagacious  forecast  and  vigorous 
exertion  founded  thereon,  all  maintained  in  a  spirit  of  reveren- 
tial remembrance  of  God,  the  words  of  James  are  in  no  measure 
hostile.     The  Bible  is  eminently  stimulative  to  industry.     Its 


VER.  i6.]  Vain  Confidenceregarding  the  Future.  345 

principle  is,  that  'if  any  man  will  not  work,  neither  should  he 
eat ;'  and  every  intelligent  and  faithful  holder  of  Bible  truth 
is  '  diligent  in  his  business.'  Now  in  many  departments  this 
cannot  be  done  without  looking  forward,  perhaps  far  forward — 
without  deciding  to  '  go  to  such  a  city,  and  continue  there '  a 
week,  or  a  month,  or  a  year,  '  and  buy  and  sell ;'  and  on  all  such 
resolutions  of  honest,  God-fearing  men,  formed  and  carried  out 
in  the  humble  spirit  of  those  who  always  say  in  their  hearts,  if 
not  with  their  lips,  '  If  the  Lord  will,'  He  does  not  frown.  The 
thought  of  divine  providence,  of  his  heavenly  Father's  watchful 
care,  cheers  the  Christian  in  all  his  work  ;  and  the  remembrance 
that  our  life  is  but  '  a  vapour,  that  appeareth  for  a  little  time, 
and  then  vanisheth  away' — the  taking  in  of  death  into  his  cal- 
culations— does  not  unnerve,  but  stimulates.  '  Whatsoever  his 
hand  findeth  to  do,  he  does  it  with  his  might;'  bearing  in  mind 
that  '  there  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom, 
in  the  grave,  whither  he  goeth.' 

But,  brethren,  is  not  the  fact  on  which  the  apostle's  appeal 
is  founded  a  very  strange  one, — that  the  great  truths  of  our 
ignorance  of  the  future,  and  of  the  brevity  and  uncertainty  of 
life,  exert  so  little  influence  on  the  views  and  conduct  of  vast 
multitudes  ?  For  reasons  of  infinite  wisdom,  having  reference 
both  to  our  good  and  to  His  own  glory — some  of  which  we  can 
perceive  even  now — God  has  hidden  our  earthly  future  from  us. 
Prophecy  sheds  light  on  the  great  principles  and  outlines  of 
God's  administration, — but  in  regard  to  the  future  history  even 
of  the  church  we  know  almost  nothing  in  detail ;  and  regard- 
ing our  own  personal  earthly  future,  absolutely  nothing.  We 
may  conjecture,  but  we  have  no  knowledge;  and  few  things 
are  more  calculated  to  bring  with  liveliness  before  us  the  con- 
trast between  our  littleness  and  God's  greatness,  than  the  con- 
sideration that  '  we  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth.'  We 
speculate,  and  reason,  and  guess ;  we  grapple  with  the  future, 
tearing  at  the  veil,  sometimes,  as  if  we  defied  omnipotence  to 
keep  it  there ;  and  yet  we  know  nothing,  whilst  '  He  knoweth 
the  end  from  the  beginning.'  Eternity  is  to  Him  one  great 
present,  which  in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  with  all  its  events 


34^         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  Raines,     [ch.  iv. 

and  all  their  relations  to  each  other,  He  surveys  at  a  glance, 
without  movement  or  effort. 

We  are  ignorant  of  what  will  befall  us  even  if  we  continue  to 
live, — and  we  may  die.  Ere  another  day  dawn,  '  the  silver  cord 
may  be  loosed,  and  the  golden  bowl  broken,  and  the  pitcher 
broken  at  the  fountain,  and  the  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern.' 
We  know  this, — that  we  certainly  shall  die  one  day,  and  that 
that  may  be  to-day.  No  man  or  woman  in  the  world  doubts 
it ;  nothing  is  a  more  utter  commonplace  than  that  our  life  is 
'  as  a  shadow,'  '  as  a  flower  of  the  grass,'  '  as  a  vapour ;'  and 
yet  what  vast  numbers  act  as  if  they  were  to  live  for  ever,  as  if 
all  men  were  mortal  except  themselves  !  The  very  familiarity 
of  the  truth,  the  fact  that  we  know  it  so  well  and  hold  it  so 
certain,  deadens  it  to  us.  As  Coleridge  finely  says,  '  Truths 
of  all  others  the  most  awful  and  interesting,  are  too  often  con- 
sidered as  so  true  that  they  lose  all  the  power  of  truth,  and  lie 
bedridden  in  the  dormitory  of  the  soul,  side  by  side  with  the 
most  despised  and  exploded  errors.'  ^ 

The  words  of  the  seventeenth  verse,  looked  at  by  them- 
selves, exhibit  a  general  principle  regarding  sin, — that  know- 
ledge and  responsibility  go  together.  If,  in  reference  to  any 
point  of  morals,  neither  conscience,  however  candidly  interro- 
gated, nor  revelation,  however  honestly  and  carefully  studied, 
yielded  any  light,  sin  could  not  have  place  at  all ;  and  the 
clearer  the  light  on  God's  law,  the  deeper  is  the  sinfulness  of 
those  who  break  it,  whether  by  committing  what  God  forbids 
or  neglecting  what  He  enjoins.  In  their  connection,  how- 
ever, which  is  clearly  with  the  immediately  preceding  para- 
graph,— not,  as  has  been  supposed  by  some,  with  all  the 
previous  part  of  the  Epistle, — the  words  seem  intended  spe- 
cially to  press  home  to  the  consciences  of  the  readers  the 
responsibility  resting  on  them  all,  from  the  fact  that  the  truths 
of  which  the  apostle  has  been  speaking  are  so  familiar  to  all. 
'  It  is  the  tritest  of  all  commonplaces,'  he  says,  '  that  life  is  a 
vapour,  and  that  for  its  continuance,  and  everything  that  rests 
on  its  continuance,  we  depend  absolutely  on  the  will  of  God. 
'  Aids  to  Reflection :  Introductory  Aphorism  i. 


VER.  17.]  Vain  Conjidenceregarding  the  Future.  347 

Knowing  this  so  well,  then,  bear  in  mind  your  responsibility; 
repent  of  your  proud  and  foolish  speeches,  and  of  the  spirit 
which  gave  them  utterance  ;  humble  yourselves  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,  and  resolve  in  His  strength  henceforward  to  cherish 
ever  a  child-like  sense  of  dependence  on  Him.  To  him  that 
knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin.^ 


348         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  v. 


XXV. 
WOES   OF   THE   WICKED   RICH. 

'  Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep  and  howl  for  your  miseries  that  shall  come 
upon  you.  2  Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments  are  moth- 
eaten.  3  Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered  ;  and  the  rust  of  them  shall 
be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat  your  flesh  as  it  were  fire.  Ye 
have  heaped  treasure  together  for  the  last  days.  4  Behold,  the  hire  of 
the  labourers  which  have  reaped  down  your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept 
back  by  fraud,  crieth  :  and  the  cries  of  them  which  have  reaped  are 
entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  sabaoth.  5  Ye  have  lived  in  plea- 
sure on  the  earth,  and  been  wanton ;  ye  have  nourished  your  hearts, 
as  in  a  day  of  slaughter.  6  Ye  have  condemned  and  killed  the  just ; 
and  he  doth  not  resist  you.' — ^James  v.  1-6. 

THROUGHOUT  the  previous  chapter  the  apostle  has 
been  occupied  with  the  subject  of  worldliness,  and 
the  enervating  and  debasing  influence  on  the  character  of 
professing  Christians  of  sympathy  in  any  degree  with  the 
longings  and  efforts  of  persons  who  seek  their  portion  on 
the  earth.  Dwelling  on  the  fact  that  the  root  of  worldliness 
is  pride,  arrogant  self-assertion  against  God,  he  has  illustrated 
this  by  an  examination  of  two  of  the  innumerable  forms  in 
which  the  worldly  spirit  shows  itself — depreciation  of  others 
for  self-advancement,  and  confidence  in  the  duration  of  life 
and  of  prosperity.  Having  closed  his  remarks  on  these  ex- 
amples, the  apostle  at  this  point,  in  very  natural  accordance 
with  that  elevated  strain  of  solemn  appeal  which  has  pervaded 
the  fourth  chapter,  turns  aside  for  a  moment  to  address  those 
avowed  enemies  of  Christianity,  the  wealthy  unbelieving  Jews, 
through  free  intercourse  with  whom  it  was  that  many  of  the 
professed  followers  of  Jesus  had  been  led  far  astray.  That 
by  the  words  '  Ye  rich  men^  in  the  first  verse,  are  intended 
not  wealthy   Christians   (probably   a   very   small   class),   but 


VER.  I .]  TVoes  of  the  Wicked  Rich.  349 

wealthy  unbelievers,  the  same  '  rich  men '  who  were  spoken 
of  in  the  sixth  and  seventh  verses  of  the  second  chapter  as 
oppressors  of  the  Christians  and  blasphemers  of  the  '  worthy 
name '  of  Jesus,  is  plain  from  the  tone  of  the  whole  passage. 
And  that  the  unbelievers  who  were  in  the  apostle's  mind  were 
mainly,  if  not  exclusively,  Jews,  may  reasonably  be  inferred 
from  the  nationality  and  circumstances  of  those  Christians  to 
whom  the  letter  was  addressed.  Confirmation  of  this  view 
is  afforded  by  the  use  in  the  fourth  verse  of  the  distinctively 
Israelitish  name  for  God,  *  The  Lord  of  sabaoth  ;'  and  also  by 
the  nature  of  the  doom  denounced,  which  seems  to  point  in 
the  first  instance  to  the  calamities  that  came  upon  the  Jews 
throughout  the  world  at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
To  the  wealthy  unbelieving  Jews,  then,  James  proclaims  their 
sin  and  their  coming  miseries,  in  words  that  sound  exactly  like 
an  utterance  of  one  of  the  old  prophets.  The  paragraph  con- 
tains the  '  burden '  of  Israel's  wicked  rich,  and  we  seem  to 
hear  again  almost  literally  Amos's  outpouring  of  holy  indigna- 
tion :  '  Hear  this,  O  ye  that  swallow  up  the  needy,  even  to 
make  the  poor  of  the  land  to  fail, — saying.  When  will  the  new 
moon  be  gone,  that  we  may  sell  corn  ?  and  the  Sabbath,  that 
we  may  set  forth  wheat,  making  the  ephah  small,  and  the 
shekel  great,  and  falsifying  the  balances  by  deceit?  that  we 
may  buy  the  poor  for  silver,  and  the  needy  for  a  pair  of  shoes  \ 
yea,  and  sell  the  refuse  of  the  wheat?  The  Lord  hath  sworn 
by  the  excellency  of  Jacob,  Surely  I  will  never  forget  any  of 
their  works.  Shall  not  the  land  tremble  for  this,  and  every 
one  mourn  that  dwelleth  therein  ?  And  it  shall  rise  up  wholly 
a,s  a  flood ;  and  it  shall  be  cast  out  and  drowned,  as  by  the 
flood  of  Egypt.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  saith 
the  Lord  God,  that  I  will  cause  the  sun  to  go  down  at  noon, 
and  I  will  darken  the  earth  in  the  clear  day ;  and  I  will  turn 
your  feasts  into  mourning,  and  all  your  songs  into  lamenta- 
tion ;  and  I  will  bring  up  sackcloth  upon  all  loins,  and  bald- 
ness upon  every  head  ;  and  I  will  make  it  as  the  mourning 
of  an  only  son,  and  the  end  thereof  as  a  bitter  day'  (Amos 
viii.  4-10). 


350         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

The  apostle's  language  in  the  verses  before  us  was  well 
fitted  to  arouse  and  alarm  those  Christians  who,  forgetting 
that  '  friendship  with  the  world  is  enmity  with  God,'  had  been 
drawn  away  to  some  extent  into  sympathy  with  the  views  and 
likings  of  these  worldlings,  and  into  imitation  of  their  prac- 
tices. It  seems  highly  probable,  however,  that  we  are  not 
to  regard  the  paragraph  as  a  mere  rhetorical  apostrophe,  ad- 
dressed only  in  form  to  the  enemies  of  the  church,  whilst  in- 
tended really  to  influence  none  but  Christian  readers.  There 
was  much  in  the  writings  of  our  Lord's  apostles  to  interest 
all  thoughtful  persons,  whether  believers  in  Him  or  not — par- 
ticularly to  interest  Jews,  whose  philosophy  and  literature  were 
solely  religious ;  and  no  Epistle  was  more  likely  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  unconverted  Jews  than  one  addressed  specially 
to  the  Christians  of  their  nation  by  James,  a  man  whose  cha- 
racter, as  we  know,  commanded  the  utmost  respect  from  all 
classes  in  Jerusalem.  We  may  well  suppose,  therefore,  that 
wherever  copies  of  this  letter  went,  its  contents  became  known 
in  one  way  or  another  to  many  beyond  the  church.  It  would 
almost  seem,  indeed,  from  the  generality  of  James's  address  at 
the  beginning  of  the  letter,  '  To  the  twelve  tribes  which  are  in 
the  Dispersion,'  that  a  wider  circle  of  readers  than  the  Chris- 
tian converts  was  not  altogether  absent  from  his  thoughts. 
His  '  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  for  Israel '  was,  like 
Paul's,  '  that  they  might  be  saved ;'  and  the  paragraph  before 
us  is  an  arrow,  shot  indeed  at  a  venture,  but  with  the  devout 
hope  that  somewhere  a  joint  might  be  found  in  the  harness  of 
the  hitherto  stiff'-necked  and  rebellious  among  his  people,  by 
which  it  might  enter,  and  wound,  and  bring  the  soul  to  '  the 
Lord  that  healeth  us.' 

The  apostle  begins  by  calling  on  the  wicked  rich  men  to 
'  weep  and  howl  for  their  miseries  that  were  coining  on.^  The 
command  has  obviously,  according  to  a  familiar  usage  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets,  the  force  of  'you  well  may.'  'You  may 
well  wail  with  the  bitterest  lamentation  in  anticipation  of  your 
coming  woes,  for  the  utmost  intensity  of  anguish  will  be  justi- 
fied by  their  awfulness.' 


VER.  I.]  Woes  of  the  Wicked  Rich.  351 

Throughout  the  whole  paragraph  the  strain  is  one  of  simple 
denunciation  of  doom.  But  we  know  that  the  great  mission 
of  God's  servants  and  of  His  word  is  one  of  grace, — that 
'  whatever  things  were  written  aforetime  were  written '  to  this 
intent  mainly,  that  men  *  through  comfort  of  the  Scriptures 
might  have  Jwpe.^  This  is  true  of  the  utterances  of  righteous 
indignation  in  Scripture,  as  well  as  of  its  tender  pleadings. 
The  Saviour's  'Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo- 
crites,' was  as  really  a  word  of  love  as  His  '  Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest.'  The  most  definite  denunciations  have  all  an  undertone 
of  yearning  appeal  to  repent,  and  of  gracious  promise  if  only 
men  will  repent  and  turn  to  the  Lord.  Jonah  by  divine  com- 
mand proclaimed,  'Yet  forty  days,  and  Nineveh  shall  be  over- 
thrown ; '  and  yet,  as  the  sequel  of  the  narrative  tells  us,  when 
'  God  saw  their  works,  that  they  turned  from  their  evil  way, 
God  repented  of  the  evil  that  He  had  said  that  He  would  do 
unto  them,  and  He  did  it  not.'  So  the  apostle's  utterance  of 
doom  to  the  wicked  rich,  in  the  paragraph  before  us,  was  a  call 
of  grace,  if  only  they  would  hear  and  be  wise. 

It  seems  likely,  as  has  been  already  said,  that  James's  pre- 
diction of  '^ miseries  that  should  come  tipon''  these  men  points 
in  the  first  instance  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  which 
occurred  forty  years  after  our  Lord's  ascension  ;  and  therefore, 
from  any  date  to  which  the  writing  of  this  epistle  can  reason- 
ably be  referred,  could  not  be  very  far  off",  at  most  from  twenty 
to  twenty-five  years.  The  solemn  emphasis  with  which  our 
Lord  dwells  on  that  terrible  event,  as  a  manifestation  of  God's 
wrath  for  Israel's  iniquities,  renders  it  in  every  way  probable, 
when  we  consider  the  nature  of  this  paragraph,  that  the  woes 
of  that  time  are  here  included.  '  There  shall  be  great  tribula- 
tion,' our  Lord  foretold,  '  such  as  was  not  since  the  beginning 
of  the  world  to  this  time,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be ; '  and  the 
narrative  of  the  overthrow  written  by  Josephus  the  contem- 
porary historian  reads,  on  this  as  on  all  the  particulars  of  the 
Lord's  predictions  on  this  subject,  almost  like  a  designed 
commentary  to  describe  their  minute  fulfilment.     About  the 


352         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

same  time  as  the  overrunning  of  Palestine,  and  the  siege  and 
destruction  of  its  capital,  by  the  Roman  legions,  there  were 
throughout  the  whole  world,  wherever  Jews  were  found,  out- 
breaks of  hostility  and  cruelty  against  them  on  the  part  of 
those  among  whom  they  lived ;  and  thus  '  the  twelve  tribes 
that  were  in  the  Dispersion'  suffered  'miseries'  similar  to 
those  which  befell  their  brethren  in  the  Holy  City.  Both  at 
Jerusalem  and  elsewhere,  too  (as  in  all  cases  of  the  kind,  the 
highest  trees  having  always  to  endure  the  fiercest  violence  of 
the  tempest),  the  cruelties  fell  with  special  frequency  and 
severity  on  the  richer  and  more  influential  classes  of  society. 
As  the  wealthy  Jews  had  taken  the  lead  in  sin,  so  through 
God's  providence  they  were  made  to  take  the  lead  in  suffering. 

But  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  all  the  miseries  con- 
nected with  it  were,  like  every  other  visitation  of  God  for 
judgment  during  the  course  of  human  history,  representative 
of  the  great  judgment  at  the  close.  In  the  Lord's  prophecy 
regarding  the  overthrow  of  the  city,  given  in  the  twenty- 
fourth  chapter  of  Matthew,  this  representative  character  of 
the  catastrophe,  as  shadowing  forth  one  immeasurably  more 
awful  yet  to  come  on  all  the  finally  impenitent  of  the  human 
race,  is  distinctly  exhibited  to  the  mind  of  every  thoughtful 
reader.  To  that  great  day  our  apostle  also  would  plainly  carry 
forward  the  thoughts  of  his  readers, — a  day  when  there  shall 
come  '  indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish,  upon 
every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil,  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also 
of  the  Gentile.' 

The  statements  that  follow  regarding  the  '  riches,'  '  garments,' 
and  'gold  and  silver,'  maybe  understood  in  two  ways,  as  a 
figurative  description  of  the  imminence  and  nature  of  the  doom, 
or  as  a  literal  description  of  the  eviderjce  of  the  si?i  for  which  God 
was  about  to  inflict  the  doom.  According  to  the  former  view, 
the  meaning  may  be  thus  paraphrased  :  '  That  wealth  in  which 
you  have  such  pride,  and  on  which  you  build  such  lofty  and 
far-reaching  hopes,  is  about  to  be  taken  from  you  utterly ;  and 
if  you  would  open  your  eyes  to  look  at  it  in  the  light  shed  by 
the  predictions  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  by  His  doings  in  provi- 


VER.  2.]  Woes  of  the  Wicked  Rich.  353 

dence,  you  would  read  upon  it  on  all  sides  God's  writing  of 
doom — your  wealth  corrupted,  your  piles  of  rich  raiment  moth- 
eaten,  your  gold  and  silver  rusted  through.'  On  the  latter 
view,  the  sense  is  :  '  Your  store-rooms,  your  coffers,  your  ward- 
robes, reveal  your  wickedness.  With  the  poor  always  around 
you,  whom  God  has  sent  to  you  to  receive  a  share  of  what  He, 
the  Proprietor  of  all,  has  given  to  your  stewardship,  you  have 
yet  wealth  of  every  kind  mouldering  from  want  of  use.  God's 
children — your  own  brethren — are  shivering  at  your  gate,  whilst 
you  have  piles  of  raiment  that  the  moths  have  been  permitted 
to  possess.  God's  poor  are  houseless  and  hungry,  whilst  your 
gold  and  silver,  which  He  gave  you  to  occupy,  that,  like  the 
steward  in  the  parable,  you  might  "  make  unto  yourselves 
friends,"  but,  unlike  him,  prove  yourselves  thereby  faithful  to 
your  Lord, — this  gold  and  silver  lies  wholly  unused,  and  covered 
with  rust,  in  your  treasure-chests.'  Either  of  these  meanings 
comes  naturally  out  of  the  words  employed  by  the  apostle,  and 
is  pertinent  to  his  object.  Considering  this,  and  remembering 
how  often  Scripture  illustrates  the  natural  connection  between 
sin  and  death,  by  showing  that  sin  generates  its  own  punish- 
ment,— the  eye  wilfully  closed  becoming  judicially  blinded,  the 
heart  wilfully  obdurate  becoming  judicially  hardened, — it  seems 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  both  thoughts,  the  thought  of  sin 
and  the  thought  of  doom,  were  in  James's  mind.  This  view 
best  answers  all  exegetical  requirements:  for  whilst,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  idea  of  punishment  seems  to  be  the  prominent  one 
in  the  first  part  of  the  passage,  seeing  that  otherwise  we  should 
not  have  anywhere  that  statement  of  the  'miseries'  coming 
upon  these  wicked  rich  men,  which  the  words  of  the  first  verse 
lead  us  to  look  for ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  most  satisfactory 
sense  of  the  statement,  '  The  rust  of  them  shall  eat  your  flesh 
as  it  were  fire,'  is  afforded  by  the  supposition  that  here  rust  as 
an  evidence  of  niggardliness  was  in  the  apostle's  thoughts. 

By  ^riches''  some  interpreters  hold  'hoarded  stores  of  grain,'  or 
other  produce  of  the  ground,  to  be  specially  intended,  because 
thus  the  verb  '  are  corrupted,'  or  '  rotten,'  has  its  exact  primary 
significance.    The  word  so  rendered,  however,  is  occasionally 

z 


354         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.     [ch.  v, 

used  somewhat  loosely,  like  our  own  '  corrupt ;'  and  it  is 
perhaps  better  to  regard  the  '  corruption  of  the  riches '  as  a 
general  expression,  of  which  the  statements  that  follow  regard- 
ing the  garments  and  the  precious  metals  are  examples.  The 
mention  of  '■garments''  in  this  connection  strikes  a  European 
reader  as  a  little  strange,  particularly  if,  as  seems  probable,  the 
idea  of  doom  be  here  the  prominent  one.  But  in  the  East — in 
all  ages,  we  have  reason  to  think — it  has  been  not  uncommon 
for  wealthy  men  to  invest  a  considerable  portion  of  their  riches 
in  '  changes  of  raiment.'  Given  as  presents,  these  are  esteemed 
conspicuous  marks  of  honour  and  affection  ;^  and  among  the 
great  men  who  frequent  courts,  the  highest  distinction  is 
deemed  to  belong  to  those  who  are  able  to  show  themselves 
in  a  succession  of  different  sumptuous  robes.  The  all  but 
immobility  of  the  fashion  of  attire  in  the  East," moreover,  makes 
a  store  of  garments  useful  for  a  very  long  time,  possibly  for 
generations. 

It  is  well  known  that  gold  and  silver  are  not  liable  to  '  rust ' 
in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word.  Some  interpreters  have  there- 
fore supposed  that  James  employs  this  term  loosely,  as  includ- 
ing the  tarnishing  to  which  the  precious  metals  are  exposed. 
But  in  the  declaration,  '  The  rust  of  them  shall  eat  your  flesh 
as  it  were  fire,'  there  is  manifest  reference  to  corrosion  by  rust 
proper.  The  true  explanation  of  the  little  difficulty,  no  doubt, 
is  that  the  general  idea  in  the  writer's  mind  was  that  of  de- 
struction of  property  in  the  modes  caused  by  want  of  use, — of 
which  that  naturally  suggesting  itself  when  metals  are  specially 
mentioned  is  rust.  This,  accordingly,  he  names,  though  not 
strictly  applicable  to  gold  and  silver.  '  The  stern  and  vivid 
depiction  of  prophetic  denunciation  does  not  take  such  trifles 
into  account.'^ 

Regarding  the  *  rust  '  the  apostle  goes  on  to  declare  to 
the  wicked  rich,  that  it  *  should  be  a  tuitmss  agaiiist  them,  and 
should  eat  their  flesh  as  it  were  fire. ^     The  rust  is  manifestly 

'  Illustrations  in  the  history  of  Joseph  and  Naaman  will  occur  to  every 
reader. 
2  Alford. 


VER.  3-]  Woes  of  the  Wicked  Rich.  355 

looked  at  as  a  '  crying  '  evidence  of  sinful  hoarding.  Of 
palaces  built  with  the  fruits  of  oppression  Habakkuk  says : 
'  The  stone  shall  cry  out  of  the  wall,  and  the  beam  out  of  the 
timber  shall  answer  it'  (ii.  11).  Similarly  here:  'When  the 
Lord  comes  to  judgment,  the  rust  on  that  hoarded  wealth, 
which  should  have  been  feeding  the  hungry  and  clothing  the 
naked,  will  bear  loud  testimony  before  Him  to  your  narrow- 
ness and  obduracy  of  heart,  and  bring  down  His  stern  con- 
demnation ;  and,  your  consciences  waking  up  into  terrible 
activity,  remorse  for  your  ungodliness  and  inhumanity  will 
torture  you, — the  rust,  so  to  speak,  passing  over  from  your 
wealth  to  prey  on  your  flesh,  and  causing  you  anguish  like  that 
produced  by  fire.'  Thus,  as  Manton  says,  the  rust  '  is  not  only 
witness,  but  executioner.^  The  paraphrase  just  given  exhibits 
the  meaning  of  the  words  according  to  our  authorized  version. 
In  this  clause,  at  least,  our  translators  evidently  held  the 
apostle  to  be  looking  on  the  rust  as  an  evidence  of  sin.  But 
we  have  seen  reason  to  consider  its  primary  reference,  when 
first  mentioned,  to  be  rather  to  doom  ;  and  this  may  be  spoken 
of  here  also.  The  original  words  rendered  '  shall  be  a  witness 
against  you^  may  mean,  and  perhaps  more  naturally  do  mean, 
'  shall  be  a  witness  to  you.'  With  this  rendering,  the  sense  of  the 
clause  might  be  :  'The  destruction  which  impends  on  your  pro- 
perty will  testify  to  you  of  that  which  will  come  upon  yourselves, 
and  through  the  conviction  thus  produced  will  torture  you.' 
But  ^to  eat  the  flesh  as  fire''  is  an  expression  which  seems  most 
naturally  to  suggest  the  work  of  a  remorseful  conscience, — the 
very  word  '  remorse  '  indicating,  according  to  its  etymology,  a 
gnawing  or  corrosiofi  like  that  of  rust.  The  thought  of  evidence 
of  sin  and  that  oidoom  being  both  in  the  apostle's  mind,  through- 
out the  passage,  the  former,  I  apprehend,  here  assumes  promi- 
nence. 

In  the  closing  statement  of  the  third  verse,  '  Ye  have  heaped 
treasure  together  for  (more  accurately  "in")  the  last  days^  we 
see  still  both  thoughts  present.  'In  an  age  when  prophecy 
and  providence  indicate  so  clearly  to  all  who  are  willing  to 
discern  the  signs  of  the  times,  that  a  great  crisis  is  at  hand, — 


356         Lechires  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes,      [ch.  v. 

an  age  when  everything  that  can  appeal  to  your  religious  feel- 
ing, your  patriotism,  your  highest  self-interest,  is  calling  on 
you  with  peculiar  distinctness  to  hold  earthly  property  as  of  but 
minor  moment,  to  set  your  affections  on  the  things  that  are 
above,  and  to  strive  to  lead  back  your  misguided  nation  to  the 
God  whom  they  have  forsaken, — /;/  these  last  days  you  have 
been  greedily  heaping  up  treasure  for  yourselves.'  James's 
words,  if  we  turn  them  to  purposes  of  exhortation,  are  thus 
parallel  to  Paul's — spoken,  like  these,  with  reference  to  the 
impending  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  also  more  generally 
to  the  fact  that  since  the  advent  of  Christ  we  are  in  the  last 
age  of  the  world,  and  have  a  far  clearer  revelation  of  the 
solemnity  and  momentousness  of  death  and  of  the  Lord's 
second  advent  for  judgment  than  those  who  lived  under  the 
earlier  economies  :  '  This  I  say,  brethren,  the  time  is  short :  it 
remaineth,  that  both  they  that  have  wives  be  as  though  they 
had  none  :  and  they  that  weep,  as  though  they  wept  not ;  and 
they  that  rejoice,  as  though  they  rejoiced  not ;  and  they  that 
buy,  as  though  they  possessed  not ;  and  they  that  use  this 
world,  as  not  abusing  it :  for  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth 
away'  (i  Cor.  vii.  29-31).  But  again,  doom  also  is  before  the 
apostle's  mind.  '  Ye  have  heaped  up  treasures,  and  in  your 
arrogance  and  wilful  ignorance  ye  are  saying,  To-morrow  shall 
be  as  this  day,  and  m.uch  more  abundant ;  but  in  truth  ye 
are  in  the  last  days,  and  the  desolating  flood  of  divine  judg- 
ment is  about  to  sweep  away  everything  in  which  ye  have 
trusted  and  delighted.  The  men  of  Sodom  did  eat,  they  drank, 
they  bought,  they  sold,  they  planted,  they  builded;  but  the 
same  day  that  Lot  went  out  of  Sodom  it  rained  fire  and  brim- 
stone from  heaven,  and  destroyed  them  all.  Even  thus,  said 
the  Lord  Jesus,  shall  it  be  in  the  day  when  the  Son  of  man  is 
revealed.' 

You  will  observe  that  in  the  verses  we  have  been  examining 
we  have  one  of  those  manifest  reminiscences  and  echoes  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which  abound  in  this  Epistle.  The 
apostle  has  evidently  before  his  mind  the  Lord's  exhortation  : 
*  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  where  moth 


VER.  4-]  Woes  of  the  Wicked  Rich.  357 

and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  break  through  and 
steal ;  but  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where 
neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not 
break  through  nor  steal :  for  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will 
your  heart  be  also'  (Matt.  vi.  19-21). 

Thus  far  we  have  had  a  denunciation  of  judgment,  with  an 
indication  given  also,  in  the  form  of  the  utterance,  of  the  nature 
of  one  great  sin  of  those  wicked  rich  men  whom  the  apostle  is 
addressing, — hoarding  money  in  the  midst  of  the  hungry  and 
the  naked,  and  this  at  a  time  when  God  was  with  special  dis- 
tinctness calling  on  them  to  hold  worldly  possessions  loosely. 
James  proceeds  now  to  a  formal  arraignment,  setting  forth 
further  charges  of  sin  in  detail,  and  calling  attention  to  these 
by  his  introductory  ^Behold!'  He  accuses  them  first  of  injus- 
tice, specially  in  the  way  of  defrauding  their  servants  :  '  The 
hire  of  the  labourers  ivho  have  reaped  dozvn  your  fields,  luhich  is 
of  you  kept  back  by  fraud,  crieth :  and  the  cries  of  them  which 
have  reaped  are  entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  sabaoth.^ 
As  '  the  voice  of  Abel's  blood  cried  unto  God  from  the  ground,' 
— as  '  the  cry  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  was  grea^,' — so,  from 
the  coffers  of  these  wicked  men,  the  money  which  should  have 
been  given  to  their  servants  as  wages,  but  had  been  fraudulently 
withheld,  was  ever  making  a  loud  appeal  to  heaven.  They 
starved  the  poor  to  enrich  themselves.  Their  stately  mansions, 
their  sumptuous  fare,  their  gay  clothing  and  gold  rings,  were 
maintained  at  the  cost  of  servants'  unremunerated  toil.  Is  this 
voice  of  which  the  apostle  speaks  silent  in  our  day  ?  Ah, 
brethren,  if  we  remember  how  wide  of  range  the  reference  of 
James's  charge  is, — that  in  the  eyes  of  God  substantially  the 
same  sin  here  spoken  of  is  committed  by  those  who,  though 
there  be  no  breach  of  positive  contract,  yet  take  advantage  of 
the  necessities  of  the  poor  in  an  overcrowded  country,  by 
making  them  work  for  wages  that  bear  no  reasonable  propor- 
tion to  the  profits  of  the  employer ;  who  distress  poor  trades- 
people by  long  and  needless  delay  in  payment  of  money  due  ; 
or  who  in  other  similar  ways  diminish  the  income  of  those  that 
at  the  best  can  but  barely  keep  the  wolf  of  starvation  from  the 


358         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

door; — is  there  not  reason  to  fear  that  not  merely  from  much 
of  the  wealth  of  our  nation  a  loud  '  cry '  is  going  up  to  God, 
but  even  from  the  riches  of  many  members  of  the  church  of 
Christ,  who  taught  us  to  '  give  unto  our  servants  that  which  is 
just  and  equal,  knowing  that  we  also  have  a  Master  in  heaven,' 
and  to  '  bear  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  His  law  ?'^  Our 
apostle  speaks  particularly  of  the  defrauding  of  farm  labourers 
'  which  reaped^  evidently  because  the  employers  whom  he  had 
immediately  before  his  mind  were  in  many  cases  wealthy  land- 
owners ;  and  not  improbably  also  because  hard-heartedness  is 
peculiarly  glaring  when,  amid  the  joys  of  'harvest-home,'  men 
can  defraud  their  reapers,  and,  while  their  barns  are  full  of  corn, 
can  let  the  children  of  their  servants  pine  for  want  of  bread. 

Not  merely  do  the  wages  fraudulently  withheld  '  cry '  to 
heaven,  but  the  cries  of  the  reapers  themselves  also  ^  are 
entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth '  (that  is,  '  of  hosts,' 
the  Hebrew  word  being  employed  here  by  James,  as  some- 

^  It  would  be  ungrateful  to  God  not  to  acknowledge  that  during  the  last 
thirty  years  there  has  been  in  our  country^  in  some  important  departments 
of  labour  at  least,  a  great  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  employed. 
Even  so  recently  as  1843,  the  miners  in  our  coal-pits  were  treated  in  great 
measure  as  slaves,  and  feeble  women  had  to  toil  like  beasts  of  burden  ; 
and  in  the  factories  little  children  from  five  years  of  age  were  kept  at  work 
for  thirteen  hours  a  day,  so  that  all  energy  and  hope  were  crushed  out  of 
them,  and  disease  and  depravity  took  firm  hold. 

'  How  long,  they  say,  how  long,  O  cruel  nation. 

Will  you  stand,  to  move  the  world,  on  a  child's  heart, — 
Stifle  down  with  a  mailed  heel  its  palpitation. 

And  tread  onward  to  your  throne  amid  the  mart  ? 
Our  blood  splashes  upward,  O  gold-heaper, 

And  your  purple  shows  your  path  ! 
But  the  child's  sob  in  the  silence  curses  deeper 
Than  the  strong  man  in  his  wrath. ' 

Mrs.  Browning's  Oy  of  ike  Children. 

Now,  through  the  influence  of  wisdom  and  Christian  principle  on  our  legis- 
lation, these  things  are  only  memories.  At  the  time  of  the  cotton  famine 
a  few  years  ago,  the  liberality  of  the  nation  for  the  relief  of  the  distress  in 
Lancashire,  the  self-sacrificing  generosity  of  many  of  the  employers,  and 
the  admirable  patience  and  self-control  of  the  operatives,  all  showed  that  a 
much  more  healthful  spirit  had  arisen  than  once  prevailed. 


VER .  5  •  ]  Woes  of  the  Wicked  Rich.  359 

times  in  the  Greek  version  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  was 
famihar  to  his  readers).  '  One  hears  the  wail  of  the  poor 
whom  ye  oppress,'  says  James  to  the  rich  men,  'though  ye 
are  deaf, — One  whose  "hosts  "  can  overthrow  in  a  moment  all 
your  puny  power,  and  overwhelm  you  with  utter  destruction.' 

The  next  charge  is  that  of  lavish  self-uididgcnce :  '  Ye  have 
lived  iji  pleasure  on  the  earth,  and  been  wanto?i ;  ye  have  nourished 
your  heaj'ts  as  i?t  a  day  of  slaughter '  The  apostle  seems  to  be 
carried  forward  in  thought  by  the  energy  of  his  spirit  to  the 
great  day  of  final  account,  and  as  from  the  midst  of  its  dread 
solemnities  comes  forth  his  stern  accusation  of  the  wicked  rich 
standing  near.  This  point  of  view  is  suggested  by  the  form 
of  the  verbs  in  the  original ;  and  you  cannot  fail  to  see  that, 
supposing  the  utterance  to  be  as  from  beside  the  '  great  white 
throne,'  a  peculiar  force  and  pertinence  are  given  to  the  ex- 
pression '<?«  the  earth :^  for  though  the  judgment  will  be  held  in 
this  world,  yet  '  the  earth,'  as  the  scene  of  the  old  forms  of 
human  life,  will  appear  to  men  to  be  far  away. 

The  rich  men  have  been  spoken  of  in  the  first  verses  of  the 
paragraph  as  simply  hoarding  their  money.  Here  we  have 
them  described  as  expending  it  profusely.  But  these  two 
charges  are  not  inconsistent  with  each  other;  and  in  the 
lives  of  very  many  of  those  who  count  it  the  chief  end  of  man 
to  glorify  and  enjoy  himself  both  sins  manifestly  co-exist.  A 
man  of  large  income  lays  up  money  by  closing  his  eyes  to  the 
claims  of  benevolence, — whilst  at  the  same  time  on  his  own 
self-gratification  he  spends  without  stint.  Such  saving  and 
such  spending  are  both  alike  utterly  opposed  to  the  principles 
of  stewardship  for  God.  The  man  has  forgotten  entirely  that 
the  '  silver  and  the  gold  are  God's,'  and  this  no  less  when  men 
have  them  in  their  keeping  than  when  they  are  yet  in  the  mine. 
*  Ye  lived  in  pleasure  on  the  earthy  says  James,  '  and  earth  alone 
was  in  your  thoughts ;  not  heaven,  where  God  was  listening  to 
the  cry  of  those  whom  ye  oppressed  ;  not  hell,  where  many  a 
man  who  when  on  the  earth  had  like  you  been  clothed  in 
purple  and  fine  linen,  and  fared  sumptuously  every  day,  and 
like  you  had  disregarded  the  appeal  of  God's  poor,  was  in 


360         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  v. 

torment.  Ye  lived  in  pleasure,  and  were  tvajiton,  squandering 
in  wild  revelry  what  had  been  wrung  from  the  poor  by  tyranny 
and  fraud.' 

It  has  been  thought  by  some  interpreters,  that  in  the  last 
words  of  the  fifth  verse  there  is  a  reference  to  the  abundance 
and  festivity  found  in  the  house  of  a  Jew  on  a  day  when  he 
had  presented  a  sacrifice  to  God, — a  large  part  of  the  animal 
offered  being,  according  to  the  law,  returned  by  the  priest,  and 
a  feast  held.  There  are  several  allusions  in  Scripture  to  such 
feasts,  somewhat  similar  to  that  supposed  to  be  made  here. 
But  all  the  oldest  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament  omit  the 
particle  of  comparison  '■as;''  and  on  the  removal  of  it  from  the 
text,  this  reference  becomes  untenable.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  apostle,  having  before  his  mind  the  impending 
'  day  of  the  Lord's  vengeance,'  and  the  rich  men's  mad  revelries 
and  utter  brute-like  disregard  of  the  future,  likens  them  here  to 
oxen,  who  graze  as  quietly  and  find  in  their  rich  pastures  as 
much  satisfaction  on  the  very  day  that  they  are  to  be  killed  as 
on  any  other  day.  'As  if  ye  were  natural  brute  beasts,  made 
to  be  taken  and  destroyed  (2  Pet.  ii.  12),  ye  notcrished  your 
hearts — pampered  all  your  likings — on  the  eve  of  your  destruc- 
tion, when  many  indications  of  providence  might  have  told 
you  that  you  had  come  to  your  very  slaughter-day.^ 

The  last  accusation  which  James  brings  against  these  men 
is  that  of  high-handed  cruelty :  '  Ye  have  condemned  and  killed 
the  just,  and  he  doth  not  resist  you.''  By  many  '  the  Just  (or 
"  righteous  ")  man '  here  is  regarded  as  practically  equivalent 
to  'just  men,'  an  individual  being  taken  to  represent  the  class 
who  were  the  objects  of  the  rich  men's  persecution.^  This  is 
a  mode  of  expression  not  uncommon  in  Scripture,  particularly 
in  the  Old  Testament;  but  in  a  passage  like  this,  which  is  in 

^  On  this  view  of  the  meaning,  an  interesting  parallel  to  the  apostle's 
words  is  found  in  the  Apocrypha  (Wisdom  of  Solomon  ii.  10-20).  The 
exact  accordance  of  the  verse  with  the  circumstances  of  James's  own  death, 
too,  as  related  by  Hegesippus,  is  very  striking.  '  The  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, '  says  the  historian,  '  threw  down  the  Just  from  the  pinnacle  of  the 
temple,  and  said,  Let  us  stone  James  the  Just,  and  they  began  to  stone 


VER.  6.]  Woes  of  the  Wicked  Rich.  361 

form  a  definite  historical  statement,  it  seems  hardly  natural  to 
give  the  words  a  general  meaning.  It  is  difficult,  too,  on  this 
view,  to  account  for  the  sudden  transition  in  the  last  clause 
from  the  historical  form,  '  Ye  co?idemned,  ye  killed  the  just 
one,'  to  the  present,  '  he  doth  not  resist  you.'  Besides,  it  can 
hardly  be  doubted  that  in  the  apostolic  age  'The  Just  One' 
was  a  common  designation  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  especially  in 
the  discourse  of  Jewish  Christians  to  each  other  (such  as  we 
have  in  this  Epistle), — so  that  the  first  thought  in  the  minds 
of  James's  readers,  regarding  the  words  which  he  here  uses, 
would  almost  certainly  be  that  he  referred  to  the  Saviour.  To 
the  people  of  Jerusalem,  assembled  in  Solomon's  Porch,  Peter 
said,  'Ye  denied  the  Holy  One  and  the  Just'  {Acts  iii.  14). 
Stephen  said  to  the  Sanhedrim,  '  Your  fathers  have  slain  them 
which  showed  before  of  the  coming  of  the  Just  One,  of  whom 
ye  have  been  now  the  betrayers  and  murderers'  (Acts  vii.  52). 
To  Paul,  Ananias  spoke  thus  :  '  The  God  of  our  fathers  hath 
chosen  thee,  that  thou  shouldest  know  His  will,  and  see  that 
(strictly,  as  here,  "the")  Just  One'  (Acts  xxii.  14).  It  seems 
to  me,  therefore,  decidedly  more  probable  that  by  '  the  just 
one,'  in  the  verse  before  us,  James  means  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Perhaps  comparatively  few  of  those  who  were  the  arrogant 
and  cruel  persecutors  of  Christ's  church,  at  the  time  when 
this  Epistle  was  written,  had  personally  taken  part  in  the 
judicial  murder  of  the  Lord — so  perfectly  described,  you  ob- 
serve,, by  the  apostle's  words,  'Ye  condemned — ye  killed.'  But 
it  is  the  rich  Jewish  unbelievers  as  a  class  that  he  addresses,  and 
it  was  mainly  to  their  class  that  that  maddest,  wickedest  deed  in 
the  history  of  the  world  was  due.  In  the  Gospels  we  see  proof 
everywhere  that  it  was  the  chief  priests  and  rulers  that  had  a 
bitter,  murderous  hatred  to  Jesus  ;  and  even  when  the  common 
people  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings  connected  with 

him  ;  for  he  had  not  been  killed  by  the  fall,  but,  turning  round,  knelt  and 
said,  I  beseech  Thee,  Lord  God  and  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know 
not  what  they  do.  But  whilst  they  were  thus  stoning  him,  one  of  the 
fullers  took  the  club  with  which  he  used  to  press  the  clothes,  and  struck 
the  head  of  the  Just.     Thus  he  suffered  martyrdom.' 


362         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

the  judicial  murder — as,  for  example,  in  calling  for  Barabbas — 
it  was  because  '  the  chief  priests  and  elders  persuaded '  them 
to  do  this  (Matt,  xxvii.  20).  To  this  prominence  of  the 
wealthy  and  influential  men  of  the  nation  in  the  sin  Peter 
adverts  in  his  address  to  the  people  in  Solomon's  Porch, 
'And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that  through  ignorance  ye  did  it, 
as  did  also  your  rulers'  (Acts  iii.  17) ;  and  Paul,  in  writing  to 
the  Corinthians,  '  We  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery  ; 
which  (wisdom)  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew :  for 
had  they  known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord 
of  glory'  (i  Cor.  ii.  7,  8).  And  the  rich  men  spoken  of  by 
James  here,  who  persecuted  Christians,  exhibited  exactly  the 
same  spirit,  and  therefore  in  the  eyes  of  God  were  guilty  of 
the  same  sin,  as  those  who  had  murdered  the  Lord ;  for  it  is 
Christ  in  His  people  that  the  world  hates.  '  Saul,  Saul,  why 
persecutest  thou  Ale  ? '  The  wickedness  of  the  class  of  wealthy 
unbelieving  Jews,  then — as  indeed  the  wickedness  of  the  human 
race,  but  of  these  immediately  and  most  manifestly — had  cul- 
minated in  the  crucifixion  of  the  Lord ;  and,  according  to  the 
teaching  of  several  of  His  parables,  expressly  for  this,  as  the 
decisive  act  of  renunciation  of  loyalty  to  God,  came  the  utter 
overthrow  of  the  city  and  commonwealth.  Because  '  the 
husbandmen  said,  This  is  the  Heir,  come  let  us  kill  Him, 
and  cast  Him  out  of  the  vineyard,  and  slew  Him, — the  Lord 
of  the  vineyard  miserably  destroyed  those  wicked  men.' 

From  the  historical  form  of  expression,  as  of  an  utterance 
on  the  judgment  day,  *  Ye  condemned — ye  killed — the  Just 
One,'  James  suddenly  returns  to  the  present,  'He  doth  not 
resist  you^  There  is  in  these  words  a  conjunction  of  tender 
and  earnest  appeal  with  solemn  warning,  to  which  the  sudden- 
ness of  the  transition  gives  extraordinary  force,  and  which  fit- 
tingly closes  this  striking  paragraph.  'He  doth  not  resist  you — 
did  not  then,  for  He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and 
as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  He  opened  not  His 
mouth, — does  not  now,  while  ye  are  serving  yourselves  heirs  to 
the  iniquity  of  your  fathers,  by  condemning  and  killing  His 
people.     Still  He  bears  with  you, — He  who  wields  all  power 


VER.  6.]  Woes  of  the  Wicked  Rich.  363 

in  heaven  and  in  earth  :  will  He  not  win  you  by  this  marvellous 
long-suffering  ?  But  oh,  bethink  you,  if  your  murderous  opposi- 
tion to  Him  continue,  what  certainly  must  the  end  be  ?  The 
quiet  is  not,  cannot  be,  for  ever.  How  terrible  will  be  His 
vengeance  for  your  accumulated  guilt !  He  doth  ?iot  resist  yo7i, 
— and  in  the  very  silence  there  is  that  which  should  fill  His 
foes  with  terror.     It  is  the  dead  calm  before  the  earthquake.' 


;64         Lechires  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  v. 


XXVI. 
PATIENCE  THROUGH  THE  BLESSED  HOPE. 

'  Be  patient  therefore,  brethren,  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  Behold, 
the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  precious  fmit  of  the  earth,  and  hath 
long  patience  for  it,  until  he  receive  the  early  and  latter  rain.  8  Be 
ye  also  patient ;  stablish  your  hearts  :  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
draweth  nigh. ' — ^James  v.  7,  8. 

FROM  his  solemn  warning,  by  way  of  apostrophe,  to  the 
bigoted  and  cruel  oppressors  of  the  church,  the  apostle 
comes  back  at  this  point  to  resume  the  ordinary  course  of  his 
Epistle, — the  word  '  breth7-en '  intimating  that  his  address  is 
again  directly  to  Christians.  He  exhorts  them  to  bear  their 
sufferings  with  patience.  The  connection  of  thought,  Avhile 
in  a  general  way  with  the  whole  announcement  in  the  preced- 
ing paragraph,  seems  to  be  more  particularly  with  the  ideas 
suggested  by  the  solemn  '  doth  not  resist  you,'  the  last  words 
of  the  paragraph.  Those  same  objects  of  expectation  which 
were  calculated  to  fill  the  persecutors  with  dread  were  fitted 
to  animate  and  sustain  believers  ;  for  the  Lord  when  He  comes, 
whether  personally  at  the  great  consummation  of  this  world's 
history,  or  in  those  striking  acts  of  providence  which  the  wise 
recognise  as  His  visitations — lively  proofs  of  His  presence, 
precursors  of  His  final  advent, — comes  not  to  punish  and  crush 
His  foes  only,  but  to  bless  His  people. 

The  Jewish  Christians  to  whom  James  wrote  were  in  sore 
trouble,  many  of  them,  as  we  have  seen,  through  the  oppression 
of  the  enemies  of  the  truth,  particularly  their  own  unbelieving 
countrymen.  The  Saviour  had  given  them  warning  that  it  would 
be  so, — that  if  the  world  hated  and  persecuted  Him,  it  would  also 
hate  and  persecute  those  that  honoured  His  name  and  strove 


VER.  7.]  Patience  through  the  Blessed  Hope.        365 

to  walk  in  His  ways.  Still,  no  doubt,  times  of  almost  faith- 
less wonderment  would  come,  and  flashes  of  sinful  impatience 
dart  across  their  souls ;  and  even  in  their  hours  of  devoutest 
and  most  child-like  feeling  the  cry  would  go  up,  '  How  long, 
O  Lord,  how  long  ?'  In  all  ages  when  the  world's  hostility 
to  vital  religion  was  permitted  by  God  in  His  providence  to 
show  itself  in  virulent  and  lengthened  persecution, — when 
prisons  were  crowded  with  God's  saints,  when  lips  that  had 
taught  and  comforted  many  were  silenced  by  death  on  a  scaf- 
fold, when  smoke  went  curling  up  towards  heaven  from  fires 
that  were  torturing  and  destroying  the  excellent  of  the  earth — 
and  yet  the  heaven  was  silent,  and  no  bolt  of  divine  vengeance 
came  forth  to  consume  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  in  a  moment, 
— this  must  have  proved  a  most  severe  trial  of  that  quietness 
and  restfulness  of  heart  in  God  to  which  believers  are  called. 

Few  things,  if  any,  in  the  life  of  faith  are  more  difficult 
than  to  accept  cordially  the  divine  forbearance  with  arrogant 
and  oppressive  sin — the  subUme  long-suffering  which  permits 
great  moral  problems  to  be  worked  out  fully  by  the  experience 
of  generations  through  centuries  and  millenniums,  for  God's 
glory,  and  the  good  of  His  angelic  and  human  children  ever- 
lastingly. We  can  see  but  a  very  little  way  into  the  principles 
of  the  divine  administration,  my  brethren, — '  He  makes  dark- 
ness His  secret  place — His  pavilion  round  about  Him  are 
dark  waters  and  thick  clouds  of  the  skies  j'  but  we  know  that 
'justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  His  throne,'  and 
'  mercy  and  truth  go  before  His  face.'  It  is  the  way  of  God 
to  move  slowly.  Though  immediately  on  the  commission  of 
the  first  sin  a  promise  of  grace  was  given,  yet  thousands  of 
years  had  to  elapse  before  the  right  time  came,  the  fulness 
of  time,  when  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested  in  flesh  for  our 
redemption.  When  He  did  come,  thirty  years  of  His  life 
passed  over  before  His  claims  to  be  from  God  were  made 
known  beyond  the  very  narrowest  circle.  And  since  His  ascen- 
sion to  glory,  since  '  all  power  was  given  to  Him  in  heaven  and 
in  earth,  to  quicken  whom  He  would,'  well-nigh  two  thousand 
years  have  gone,  and  still  by  far  the  larger  part  of  our  world 


366         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.     [ch.  v. 

is  in  heathen,  Mohammedan,  or  Antichristian  darkness ;  whilst 
even  in  lands  of  gospel  light  genuine  piety  seems  to  rule  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  people.  It  accords  with  all  this  that 
God  should  be  long  silent  while  His  people  are  oppressed. 
Look  at  the  view  given  us  of  this  from  the  side  of  heaven : 
'And  when  he  had  opened  the  fifth  seal,  I  saw  under  the  altar 
the  souls  of  them  that  were  slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for 
the  testimony  which  they  held  :  and  they  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  saying.  How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  Thou  not 
'  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ? 
And  white  robes  were  given  unto  every  one  of  them ;  and  it 
was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season, 
until  their  fellow-servants  also  and  their  brethren,  that  should 
be  killed  as  they  were,  should  be  fulfilled'  (Rev.  vi.  9-1 1). 
How  wonderful  is  this  divine  calm  above — '  It  was  said  unto 
them  that  they  should  rest ' — in  contrast  with  the  turmoil,  and 
weary  waiting,  and  anxious  appeals  below  ! 

The  apostle  exhorts  his  readers  to  '' be  patienV  under  the 
oppression  of  their  enemies — to  seek  oneness  of  will  with  God, 
and  wait  His  time  with  child-like  hearts.  This  is  true  Chris- 
tian patience.  It  has  no  Stoical  affectation  of  indifference  to 
suffering, — it  acknowledges  that  trouble  in  itself  is  'not  joyous, 
but  grievous ;'  but  it  recognises  God's  hand  even  in  afflictions 
that  immediately  come  from  the  selfishness  and  malignity  of 
evil  men ;  in  God's  hand  it  sees  that  of  a  Father  who  will 
never  chasten  longer  or  more  severely  than  is  really  needful ; 
and  thus  it  waits  His  time  for  deliverance.  That  time  cer- 
tainly will  come.  Commonly  His  providence  enriches  His 
people  with  many  comforts  here — periods,  long  periods  often, 
of  health,  and  peace,  and  prosperity ;  for  '  godliness  hath  the 
promise  of  this  life '  as  well  as  of  the  future.  But  however 
many  or  however  gloomy  the  days  be  during  which  He 
afflicts  us,  and  the  years  in  which  we  see  evil,  yet  assuredly 
one  day  He  will  make  us  glad.  '  Weeping  may  endure  for  a 
night,'  and  the  night  may  seem  very  long  and  very  dark ;  'but 
joy  Cometh  in  the  morning' — the  morning  of  an  endless  day. 

To  that  blessed  morning,  as  dawning  on  the  whole  church 


VER.  7.]  Patience  thj'oiigli  the  Blessed  Hope.        367 

of  God,  now  for  the  first  time  without  any  sorrowing  member 
— to  the  day  of  the  Lord's  personal  coming,  to  clothe  His 
people  in  the  garments  of  everlasting  glory  and  beauty — is 
undoubtedly  the  grand  if  not  the  exclusive  reference  of  the 
apostle's  words  here,  in  speaking  of  the  limit  beyond  which 
patience,  waiting  in  any  form  or  measure,  will  not  be  needed, 
— '  tcnto  the  coining  of  the  Loi'd^  The  paragraph  before  this, 
describing  the  miseries  about  to  come  on  the  rich  oppressors 
of  the  church,  probably  points  forward  in  the  first  instance,  as 
we  have  seen,  to  the  calamities  connected  with  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  but  plainly  also  points  beyond  these  to  the 
'tribulation  and  anguish'  of  Christ's  enemies  at  the  judgment 
day.  Now  the  expression  used  in  the  passage  before  us, 
'  the  coming  of  the  Lord,'  is  beyond  question  employed  some- 
times in  the  New  Testament  of  the  destruction  of  the  wicked 
capital  and  apostate  commonwealth  of  Israel,  as  similar  lan- 
guage is  employed  in  the  Old  Testament  of  similar  providen- 
tial judgments.  To  it,  therefore,  James  may  be  supposed  to 
have  still  some  reference  in  the  exhortati'on  before  us  ;  if  at  all, 
however,  only  very  slightly,  as  it  appears  to  me.  The  whole  tone 
of  the  passage  suggests  a  completeness  and  grandeur  of  deliver- 
ance,— and  this  not  from  the  oppression  of  evil  men  merely, 
but  from  all  the  troubles  of  every  kind  that  necessitate  patience, 
— such  as  plainly  to  indicate  that  the  Saviour's  personal  advent 
was  fully  before  the  writer's  mind,  His  advent  to  raise  the  dead 
and  judge  the  world,  to  visit  His  enemies  with  '  everlasting  de- 
struction from  His  presence  and  from  the  glory  of  His  power/ 
and  to  introduce  His  friends  into  the  fulness  of  salvation. 

This  grand  event,  the  consummation  of  the  divine  probation- 
ary dealings  with  this  world,  is  always  exhibited  in  Scripture  as 
for  every  wise  soul  the  supremely  influential  fact  of  the  future, 
and  the  object  of  the  most  ardent  longings  of  the  Christian  heart. 
The  great  spur  to  energetic  service  of  God  is  the  thought  that 
'when  Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  then  we  also  shall 
appear  with  Him  in  glory.'  The  great  support  in  trouble  is 
the  consideration,  that  '  when  His  glory  shall  be  revealed,  we 
shall  be  glad  also  with  exceeding  joy.'     Conversion  is  '  turning 


368      .  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes,      [ch.  v, 

to  God,  to  serve  Him,  and  to  wait  for  His  Son  from  heaven  ; ' 
and  thus  it  seems  a  natural  description  of  Christians,  that 
they  are  persons  who  '  love  the  appearing  of  the  Lord.'  This 
loving  expectation  of  the  second  coming  stands  in  vital 
connection  with  a  loving  apprehension  of  the  objects  ot 
the  first  coming.  Enjoying  now  precious  first-fruits  from  the 
advent  to  sow,  we  anticipate  the  glorious  fulness  of  harvest 
at  the  advent  to  reap.  We  'look'  with  brightness  of  spirit 
*for  that  blessed  hope,  even  His  glorious  appearing,'  be- 
cause we  are  filled  with  thankfulness  and  love  by  the  remem- 
brance that  '  He  gave  Himself  for  us,  to  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity.'  Believing  as  a  historical  fact,  most  clearly  demon- 
strated, that  '  Christ  was  once  ofi"ered  to  bear  the  sins  of 
many,'  we  see  here  ample  evidence  leading  us  to  accept  the 
sweet  assurance,  that  '  to  them  that  look  for  Him  shall  He 
appear  the  second  time,  without  sin,  unto  salvation.'  Thus 
we  '  show  forth  the  Lord's  death  till  He  come ;'  and  '  the 
contemplations  and  affections  of  the  believer,  travelling  be- 
tween His  abasement  and  His  exaltation,  find  in  Jesus  under 
both  aspects  together  a  complete  salvation.'^ 

Now,  by  any  one  who  considers  the  subject,  it  can  hardly 
be  doubted  that  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord  holds  a  far 
less  prominent  position  in  the  thoughts  of  most  Christians  of 
our  day  than  it  did  in  those  of  the  apostles,  and,  as  is  evident 
from  the  tone  of  their  writings,  they  desired  that  it  should  do 
in  those  of  their  readers.  Is  this  because  we  have  a  less  lively 
love  to  the  Saviour,  and  longing  to  be  with  Him, — because 
knowing  about  Jesus  does  not  so  fully  bring  us  to  know  Jesus 
as  our  divine  Friend  and  Brother  ?  Whatever  the  reason,  the 
fact,  I  think,  is  certain.  The  death  of  the  individual  has  to  a 
great  extent  taken  in  the  mind  of  the  modern  church,  as  exhi- 
bited in  the  discourses  of  the  pulpit  and  in  religious  literature, 
the  place  which  in  the  church  of  the  first  days  was  occupied 
by  the  Lord's  personal  advent.  Now,  however  much  it  may 
seem  to  us  that  this  is  practically  the  same  thing,  and  however 

'  Dr.  David  Brown,  of  Aberdeen,  in  his  singularly  able  and  satisfying 
■work  on  The  Second  Advent. 


VER.  7.]   Patience  through  the  Blessed  Hope.       369 

influential  the  thought  of  death  will  assuredly  be  on  all  who 
look  it  fairly  in  the  face,  yet  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  our  religious  life  must  suffer  as  really,  though  not  to  the 
same  degree,  by  altering  the  relative  prominence  given  to  the 
articles  of  our  faith  in  Scripture  as  by  believing  positive  error  ? 
No  truth  can  exert  on  the  mind  and  heart  exactly  the  same 
influence  as  another.  Now  it  seems  plain  that  the  Divine 
Spirit  would  have  Christians  to  keep  before  their  souls  the  day 
with  which  for  them  no  ideas  can  be  connected  but  those  of 
blessedness, — the  day  when  the  Redeemer  shall  appear  in  glory, 
and  all  His  redeemed  ones,  gathered  together,  shall  be  per- 
fectly, publicly,  and  simultaneously  glorified  with  Him.  The 
substitution  for  this,  then,  the  putting  in  its  appointed  place  of 
prominence  in  each  believer's  mind,  of  the  time  of  his  own 
death, — a  time,  considered  simply  in  itself,  not  attractive,  but 
repulsive,  round  which,  even  for  those  who  fully  know  that  the 
sting  has  been  taken  away,  some  gloom  will  hang,  and  which 
introduces  into  a  blessedness,  ineffable  indeed,  yet  but  prepara- 
tory to  that  which  remains  to  be  revealed, — this  substitution 
cannot  but  have  in  various  ways  an  injurious  effect.  Its  in- 
fluence can  hardly  but  strengthen  the  tendency,  of  which  it 
seems  to  be  itself  in  some  measure  an  expression,  to  gather 
in  the  soul's  thoughts  and  yearnings  round  herself,  instead  of 
sending  them  out  fully,  joyously,  lovingly,  to  the  Saviour.  It 
can  hardly  be  questioned,  I  think,  that  the  doctrines  of  pre- 
millennialism  (seriously  erroneous  doctrines,  as  it  appears  to 
me)  have  obtained  the  wide  acceptance  that  they  have  in 
our  day  mainly  through  a  natural  and  extreme  reaction  in 
the  minds  of  Christians  of  an  ardent  and  affectionate  tem- 
perament from  the  tone  of  thinking  and  feeling  which  has 
put  the  Lord's  glorious  appearing  so  far  out  of  view;  and 
the  best  thing  one  can  desire,  in  regard  to  the  controversy 
which  the  pre-millennialists  have  stirred  up,  is  that  it  may  lead 
to  the  giving  to  that  grand  event  its  primitive  and  proper  place 
in  the  contemplations  and  hopes  of  the  church  generally. 

Having  exhorted  the  sufifering  Christians  to  '  be  patient  till 
the  coming  of  the  Lord,'  the  apostle,  according  to  his  wont,  eluci- 

2  A 


370         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  v. 

dates  and  enforces  his  advice  by  an  illustration  :  '  Behold,  the 
husbandman  waitethfor  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth,  and  hath 
long  patience  for  it,  until  he  receive  the  early  and  latter  rain.  Be 
ye  also  patient ;  stablish  your  hearts^  The  grain  is  '■precious''  to 
the  farmer,  an  object  of  very  high  value,  because  not  merely 
his  own  worldly  prosperity,  but  the  comfort  and  very  life  of 
others,  depend  on  the  ingathering  by  himself  and  his  fellow- 
farmers  of  an  abundant  harvest ;  and  yet  he  waits  for  it  with 
' long  patience'  Eager  as  he  is  to  have  his  harvest,  still  he 
waits  for  it  quietly,  knowing  from  experience  that,  according  to 
the  arrangements  of  God,  months  must  intervene  between  the 
sowing  and  the  reaping,  and  that  nothing  he  can  do  can  materi- 
ally accelerate  the  processes  of  nature.  Sprouting  and  growing, 
blade,  and  ear,  and  full  corn  in  the  ear,  must  be  waited  for,  and 
all  the  various  agencies  by  which  God  brings  the  plant  from 
stage  to  stage.  Early  rains  to  aid  the  seed  in  bursting  and 
sprouting,  late  rains  to  fill  the  ear,i  week  after  week  of  varied 
weather  influence, — he  has  long  patience  for  them,  '■until  he' 
(or  rather,  perhaps,  his  corn)  ^receive'  them  all.  'As  he  is 
patient  for  his  harvest,  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth ;  so, 
brethren  '  (thus  the  apostle  applies  his  illustration),  '  he  ye 
patient  for  the  infinitely  more  precious  fruit  that  ye  look  for 
from  the  spiritual  field  in  which  ye  have  sown.  He  that  soweth 
to  the  Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life  everlasting — ineffable 
and  unending  beauty  and  joy  for  the  whole  nature ;  but  let  us 
be  patient :  it  is  in  due  season  that  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not. 
In  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit,  as  in  that  of  outward  nature,  a  time 
must  intervene,  according  to  the  divine  appointment,  between 
the  sowing  and  the  harvest :  let  us  wait,  then,  all  the  needful 
stages.  And  to  this  end  stablish  your  hearts'  Ah,  brethren, 
what  need  there  is  for  this  !  While  the  experienced  farmer 
waits  long,  the  child  grows  impatient  because  the  seed  he  put 
into  his  little  garden  bed  yesterday  is  not  yielding  him  fruit, 
or  at  least  putting  forth  leaves,  to-day ;  and  in  the  spiritual 
sphere  we  are  all  apt  to  be  like  children,  not  in  trustfulness,  but 

^  For  full  information  regarding  the  rains  in  Palestine,  see  Robinson's 
Biblical  Researches,  vol.  1.  pp.  429,  430  (second  edition). 


VER.  8.]   Patience  through  the  Blessed  Hope.       371 

in  ignorance  and  weakness.  '  Stablish  your  hearts,'  tlien, — have 
them  firm,  strong,  manly.  And  for  nothing  does  the  heart  so 
much  need  to  be  stabHshed,  well  sustained,  as  for  patience. 
Less  strength  of  soul  will  suffice  to  work  vigorously  than  is 
needed  to  accept  quietly  an  intimation  from  God  that  we  must 
not  work,  but  only  endure.  Less  manliness  will  carry  a  soldier 
valiantly  through  the  battle  than  is  needed  to  bear  the  pain 
and  weariness  of  months  in  the  hospital  afterwards.  But  we 
shall  be  enabled  to  stablish  our  hearts  by  planting  our  feet 
on  that  which  is  enduring,  and  laying  firm  hold  on  that  which 
is  enduring.  The  promises  of  God  are  all  unchanging,  as  being 
His  utterances  '  with  whom  is  no  variableness  j'  they  '  are  all 
yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus.'  '  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass 
away,'  but  of  these  divine  declarations  'not  one  jot  or  tittle.' 
By  a  lively  faith,  with  a  child-like,  prayerful  heart,  let  us  appro- 
priate these  promises,  realizing  their  truthfulness  and  their 
sweetness  :  thus,  thus  only,  thus  certainly,  we  shall  be  strong 
to  bear  no  less  than  strong  to  labour. 

'  Bear,  then '  (the  apostle  says  to  his  readers  tried  by  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  world),  '  bear  patiently  and  manfully  ;  for  your 
patience  will  not  be  vain  :  the  coming  of  the  Loi'd  draweth 
nigh^  It  would  be  a  great  thing  to  say,  '  Your  harvest  is  cer- 
tain.^ The  farmer,  even  after  his  'long  patience,'  may  find 
that  the  fields  yield  him  '  no  meat,'  because  '  God's  judgments 
are  in  the  earth,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  may  learn 
righteousness.'  But  no  heavens  as  brass,  nor  earth  as  iron,  no 
locust  nor  cankerworm,  can  come  between  him  who  '  soweth 
to  the  Spirit '  and  a  glorious  harvest  of  blessedness  and  holy 
beauty, — for  '  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it.'  '  For  if 
when  we  were  enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death 
of  His  Son,  much  more,  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved 
by  His  Hfe.'  '  And  in  that  day  shall  He  send  His  angels,  and 
gather  together  His  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  the  utter- 
most part  of  the  earth  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  heaven,'  and 
'  a  crown  of  righteousness  shall  the  Lord  the  righteous  Judge 
give  to  all  them  that  love  His  appearing.' 

The   harvest,   however,   is   not   merely  certain,   but   mar : 


372         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  v. 

'  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh'  '  The  Lord  is  at 
hand,'  says  Paul  to  the  PhiUppians.  At  first  sight,  declara- 
tions like  these  from  the  inspired  apostles  startle  us,  through 
their  apparent  inconsistency  with  what  we  know  to  have 
subsequently  happened.  "  Eighteen  centuries  have  gone  b3\ 
The  world  has  continued  '  buying  and  selling,  planting  and 
building,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage.'  The  '  sign  of 
the  Son  of  man'  has  not  yet 'appeared  in  the  sky.  And 
scoffers  say,  '  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ?  for  since 
the  fathers  fell  asleep  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the 
beginning  of  the  creation.'  How,  then,  could  the  Saviour's 
second  advent  be  predicted  in  those  old  days  as  then  near  ? 
Because  thus  the  eye  of  God  sees  it ;  and  faith,  in  the  measure 
of  its  vigour,  enables  us  to  see  things  in  the  light  of  God,  giving 
us  oneness  of  view  with  Him.  The  Apostle  Peter,  you  will 
remember,  ansAvers  the  question  in  this  way,  telling  us  that 
when  '  some  men  count  the  Lord  slack  conterning  His  pro- 
mise,' they  leave  this  element  out  of  their  computation,  that 
with  Him  '  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day.'  God's  '  soons ' 
and  '  quicklies '  are  not  to  be  estimated  by  our  impatient 
reckonings.  '  Ethiopia  shall  soon  stretch  forth  her  hands  unto 
God '  comes  sounding  to  us  over  the  distance  of  three  thou- 
sand years,  and  how  very  partially  is  it  yet  fulfilled  !  '  Be- 
hold, I  come  quickly,'  said  Jesus  eighteen  hundred  years  ago, 
and  still  the  heavens  retain  Him.  'Near'  and  'distant'  are 
relative  terms.  For  the  little  child,  whose  limbs  soon  grow 
weary,  the  friend's  house  is  fai"  away,  which  for  his  father 
is  but  a  step  from  home.  So  to  the  child,  reckoning  by 
his  life,  an  event  seems  long  past,  far  away  in  a  hoary  an- 
tiquity, which'  to  the  man  on  whom  have  come  the  snows 
of  many  winters,  and  who  reckons  by  ///s  life,  seems  to  have 
occurred  but  yesterday.  Now,  when  our  apostle  says,  '  The 
coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh,'  he  speaks  as  one  who 
has  been  taught  to  reckon  according  to  the  years  of  the 
lifetime  of  the  Most  High — unbeginning,  unending.  On  the 
same  principle,  Paul  estimates  the  Christian's  affliction — afflic- 
tion spread  perhaps  over  threescore  years  and  ten — as  'but 


VER.  8.]    Patience  through  the  Blessed  Hope.       373 

for  a  moment,'  because  the  standard  by  which  he  computed 
was  the  '  eternal '  duration  of  the  '  weight  of  glory '  that  was 
to  follow. 

That  such  is  the  correct  explanation  of  these  '  nighs,' 
'  soons,'  and  '  quicklies,'  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  our 
Lord  and  His  apostles  in  other  places  tell  us  of  various 
things,  of  a  kind  requiring  what  men  call  a  long  time,  that 
are  to  happen  before  His  coming ;  and  Paul,  in  particular, 
finding  that  the  Thessalonians  had  misconceived  the  principle 
of  the  reckoning,  expressly  cautions  them  against  this  error 
as  a  dangerous  one.  '  Now  we  beseech  you,  brethren,  by 
the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  our  gathering 
together  unto  Him,  that  ye  be  not  soon  shaken  in  mind,  or 
be  troubled,  neither  by  spirit,  nor  by  word,  nor  by  letter  as 
from  us,  as  that  the  day  of  Christ  is  at  hand.  Let  no  man 
deceive  you  by  any  means  '  (2  Thess.  ii.  1-3).  Yet  the 
church  should  always  feel  her  Lord's  coming  to  be  near ;  and 
when  her  faith  is  lively  and  her  love  glowing,  she  does.  As 
under  the  clear  Eastern  sky  a  range  of  lofty  mountains,  which  j 
is  yet  many  days'  journey  distant,  seems  almost  at  hand;  so! 
in  the  pellucid  atmosphere  of  faith,  the  great  towering  event  ■ 
of  the  future,  dwarfing  all  else,  seems  close  above  us.  In 
seasons  of  elevated  spirituality  we  feel  the  advent  to  be  near. 
Chronologically,  many  years,  as  men  reckon,  may  yet  be  to 
elapse,  but  faith  sees  Him  coming  '  like  to  a  roe  or  a  young 
hart  leaping  on  the  mountains  of  spices ;'  and  when  the  grand 
event  has  happened,  brethren,  and  we  look  back  upon  it  from 
the  eternity  of  blessedness  and  glory,  we  shall  see  ever  more 
clearly — for  we  shall  understand  the  reckoning  ever  more 
perfectly — how  exactly  the  Lord  fulfilled  His  promise,  '  Behold, 
I  come  quickly!' 

Well  might  the  suffering  Christians  of  James's  day '  be  patient' 
and  '  stablish  their  hearts ;'  well  may  we  in  every  trouble  and 
alarm  be  patient  and  stablish  our  hearts, — '  for  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  draweth  nigh.' 


374         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes,      [ch.  v. 


XXVII. 

MURMURING  AGAINST  BRETHREN. 

'  Grudge  not  one  against  another,  brethren,  lest  ye  be  condemned  :  behold, 
the  Judge  standeth  before  the  door.  lo  Take,  my  brethren,  the  pro- 
phets, who  have  spoken  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  for  an  example  of 
suffering  affliction,  and  of  patience.  1 1  Behold,  we  count  them  happy 
which  endure.  Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,  and  have  seen 
the  end  of  the  Lord ;  that  the  Lord  is  veiy  pitiful,  and  of  tender 
mercy.' — ^James  v.  9-1  i. 

THESE  verses  continue  the  teaching  on  the  subject  of 
patience  which  was  begun  in  the  seventh  verse.  Here, 
in  the  ninth,  the  apostle,  skilled  through  divine  teaching  in 
the  ways  of  the  human  heart,  cautions  his  readers  against  im- 
patience 7iiith  each  ot/ier.  They  were  liable,  he  tells  them,  to 
murmur  not  merely  against  their  enemies,  and  against  the  long- 
suffering  of  God,  but  against  their  fellow-believers.  '  Grudge  not 
one  against  another,  brethreti.^  The  word  '■grudge''  was  used  in 
the  older  English  in  a  somewhat  more  general  sense  than  now, 
being  quite  equivalent  to  '  murmur '  or  '  grumble.'  The  exact 
meaning  of  the  original  term  here  translated  '  grudge '  is  '  groan' 
or  '  sigh  heavily,' — the  reference  in  this  place  manifestly  being  to 
the  groaning  or  sighing  not  of  simple  sorrow,  but  of  vexation  and 
ill-humour.  The  apostle's  warning  goes  deep,  you  see.  Even 
though  there  be  no  word  or  act  of  ill-will  to  brethren — though 
the  feeling  remain  buried  in  the  heart,  or  have  only  the  inarti- 
culate utterance  of  a  sigh — yet  exercises  of  the  soul  of  this  kind 
are  grievously  hurtful  to  the  soul  itself  They  corrode  and  en- 
feeble ;  they  sully  the  tender  bloom  of  the  beauty  of  holiness. 

The  injunction,  like  so  many  of  the  apostle's,  is  thrown  into  a 
very  general  form,  and  should  be  accepted  by  us  and  pondered 
as  of  universal  validity.     Yet  there  can  be  no  doubt,  looking 


VE  R.  9 .  ]      Munnuring  against  Brethren .  375 

at  the  context,  that  the  apostle  has  special  reference  to  the 
peculiar  spiritual  perils  of  this  kind  belonging  to  a  time  of . 
trojible,  such  as  that  in  which  his  first  readers  found  them- 
selves. Suffering  of  any  sort,  particularly  if  severe  and  long 
continued,  is  apt  to  develope  an  irritability  which,  unless  there 
be  a  very  lively  faith  and  constant  vigilance,  will  lead  to 
fretfulness.  Even  where  the  soul  is  so  governed  by  Christian 
principle,  that  there  is  no  murmuring  against  God,  or  against 
the  human  authors  of  the  trouble,  if  it  be  immediately  from 
men, — yet  the  irritability  may  show  itself  toward  friends  around, 
and  under  the  provocation  of  very  trifling  sources  of  annoy- 
ance. When  confronted  with  a.  great  trouble,  the  new  man  in 
Christ  girds  up  his  loins  to  resist  temptation,  and  stand  in 
the  evil  day ;  but  in  the  reaction  from  this  strain,  ungirded,  he 
falls  by  the  stroke  of  what  is  in  itself  comparatively  a  very 
small  temptation.  All  who  have  had  much  experience  m,  sick- 
rooms, either  as  patients  or  as  nurses,  know  something  of  this. 
Murmuring  against  one  another,  then,  is  a  sin  to  which  the 
members  of  a  persecuted  church  are  peculiarly  exposed :  cir- 
cumstances fitted  to  fret  will  occur  in  their  intercourse  every 
day, — and  against  this  danger  the  apostle  faithfully  warns  his 
suffering  brethren. 

His  affectionate  word  of  address,  '  Brethren,^  has  a  special 
force  here.  It  is  not  unworthy  of  notice,  by  the  way,  that 
we  find  him  employing  this  term  with  unusual  frequency  in 
this  part  of  his  letter  —  four  times  within  six  verses  —  as  if 
he  were  influenced  by  the  feeling  that  one  of  the  principal 
supports  of  patience  is  to  be  found  in  remembering,  and 
heartily  entering  into,  the  close  relationship  of  believers  in 
Christ  to  each  other.  And  in  the  passage  before  us,  the 
'  brethren '  is  obviously  fitted  to  show  in  a  very  lively  way  the 
incongruity  of  grudging  against  each  other  with  their  Christian 
profession.  Christians  are  in  a  peculiar  sense  the  family  of 
God.  From  the  far  country  of  darkness  and  death,  into  which 
we  had  wandered,  His  grace  has  brought  us  home ;  and  now 
not  merely  through  the  fact  of  our  being  His  moral  creatures, 
but  by  the  new  spiritual  birth,  we  are  '  sons  and  daughters  of 


^^6         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

the  Lord  Almighty.'  Now,  as  we  '  love  Him  that  begat,'  so 
we  cannot  but  love  with  brotherly  affection  '  them  also  that 
are  begotten  of  Him,'  discerning  in  them  somewhat  of  those 
excellences  which,  as  they  appear  in  infinite  perfection  in 
the  character  of  our  common  Father,  have  won  for  Him  our 
supreme  love.  This  '  brotherly  kindness '  is  often  set  forth,  as 
you  remember,  by  our  Lord  and  His  apostles  as  one  great 
evidence  of  genuine  piety.  '  By  this  shall  all  men  know  that 
ye  are  My  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to  another.'  'We 
know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  because  we 
love  the  brethren  :  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother,  abideth  in 
death.'  You  see,  then,  what  a  power,  what  a  wealth  of  argu- 
ment for  every  true  Christian  heart,  there  is  in  the  form  of 
the  apostle's  warning  here  :  '■Brethren,  grudge  not  one  against 
another.' 

But  he  proceeds  to  enforce  the  warning,  bringing  in  a  very 
solemn  thought :  '  lest  ye  be  condeinned.^  According  to  what  has 
been  found  to  be  the  reading  of  all  the  oldest  manuscripts,  and 
has  been  adopted  consequently  by  all  modern  critical  editors  of 
the  Greek  Testament,  the  form  of  the  thought  is  slightly  different, 
though  its  substance  is  the  same — 'that  ye  be  not  judged.' 
We  have  here,  you  observe,  one  of  the  many  unmistakeable 
references  in  this  Epistle  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount ;  and, 
following  out  the  reference  {Matt.  vii.  i),  we  discern  an  inti- 
mation implied,  that  the  essence  of  the  sin  against  which  the 
apostle's  present  exhortation  is  directed  is  violating  the  Saviour's 
precept,  ^ Judge  not.''  It  is  evident  from  this  and  other  places  in 
the  Epistle,  that  abstinence  from  'judging'  was  counted  by  the 
apostle,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  one  of  the  grand 
subdivisions  of  the  fundamental  law  of  human  society,  '  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,' — a  subdivision  under 
which  he  instinctively  classed  many  forms  of  dut}^  That 
violating  the  command  'Judge  not'  is  the  essence  of  the  sin 
of  which  he  is  here  speaking,  will  be  plain  on  a  little  con- 
sideration. Try  to  bring  up  before  your  minds  the  position 
of, these  oppressed  Jewish  Christians.  Suppose  one  of  them 
summoned  by  some  bigoted  enemy  of  the  cross  among  his 


VER.  9-]      MiLvmuring  against  Brethren.  377 

countrymen  before  a  tribunal,  on  some  paltry  pretext,  but 
really,  as  the  accused  and  all  around  well  know,  because  he 
loves  and  honours  Jesus.  If  it  be  in  one  of  the  cities  where 
the  Jews  are  allowed  by  the  Romans  to  settle  disputes  on 
minor  matters  in  courts  of  their  own,  the  result  can  hardly 
be  doubtful,  the  judges  themselves  having  an  intense  hatred 
of  the  religion  and  followers  of  the  I^azarene.  Or  if  the  cause 
be  tried  before  a  heathen  judge,  here  also  the  probabilities  are 
in  favour  of  condemnation.  A  judge  as  sensible  and  honest 
as  Gallic,  who  refused  to  decide  a  question  of  words  and  names 
and  subtleties  of  a  religion  strange  to  him,  and  drave  Paul's 
accusers  from  the  judgment-seat,  was  rare  in  the  Roman  world; 
and  many  times,  no  doubt,  the  law  was  strained  by  corrupt 
magistrates  for  selfish  ends,  in  the  interest  of  wealthy  enemies 
of  Christ.  The  accused  Christian  then  suffers  in  his  person 
or  his  goods,  or  both.  While  the  suffering  is  still  fresh,  his 
thoughts  happen  to  turn  to  a  brother  believer,  one  in  every  way 
as  prominent  a  member  of  the  church  as  himself,  and,  in  all 
respects  that  he  knows,  as  likely  as  himself  to  bring  down  upon 
his  head  the  vengeance  of  the  unbelievers.  Yet  day  passes 
after  day,  month  after  month,  and  no  evil  comes  nigh  him ;  he 
pursues  his  avocations  and  enjoys  his  religious  privileges  in 
peace.  Or  he  too  is  accused,  and  tried, — but  allowed  to  go 
free.  If  the  sufferer  be  off  his  guard  spiritually,  'grudging' 
enters  and  gains  strength  in  his  soul,  withering  its  joys  and 
energies.  To  some  extent,  in  all  likelihood — unconsciously 
^Derhaps  to  himself,  but  really — the  murmuring  is  against  divine 
providence,  as  if  God  were  partial  in  His  allotments.  And  as 
against  the  Christian  neighbour,  on  what  does  the  'grudging' 
rest?  Plainly  on  uncharitable  judgments,  unkind  and,  it  may 
be,  utterly  baseless  suspicions, — that  his  Christianity,  after  all, 
is  not  so  pronounced  and  bright  as  it  should  be ;  that  he  is  but 
a  trimmer,  who  for  his  own  ends  contrives  to  keep  on  good 
terms  with  the  enemies  of  Christ,  as  well  as  with  His  friends ; 
that  possibly  he  may  have  condescended  to  bribe  his  judge  ;  or 
the  like.  You  observe  how  decidedly  here  'judging'  is  the 
essence  of  the  sin;  and  in  any  other  case  of  'grudging'  that 


^yS         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  v. 

might  be  supposed,  an  investigation  would  trace  it  to  the  same 
root.  Thus  you  see  how  it  is  that  the  apostle  gives  his  present 
warning  the  turn  he  does. 

'  That  ye  he  not  judged'  Nothing  is  more  plainly  taught 
in  Scripture,  my  brethren,  —  and  no  truth  is  it  more  needful 
for  Christians  to  have  vividly  before  their  minds, — than  that 
likeness  of  character  to  God  is  one  element,  the  grand  element, 
in  the  salvation  given  through  Christ.  The  believer  is,  by 
God's  grace,  through  his  faith  translated  '  out  of  darkness  into 
marvellous  light,'  in  which  he  sees  the  divine  character  to  be 
infinitely  lovely,  and  by  the  transforming  power  of  love  be- 
comes himself  a  '  partaker  of  God's  hoUness.'  Now  '  God  is 
love;'  and  thus  the  spirit  of  genuine  Christianity  is  a  spirit 
of  love.  Whatever  gifts  and  excellences  a  man  may  have,  if 
this  be  wanting,  he  is  thereby  proved  not  to  be  a  Christian. 
'  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and 
have  not  love,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling 
cymbal.  And  though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  under- 
stand all  mysteries,  and  all  knowledge ;  and  though  I  have  all 
faith,  so  that  I  could  remove  mountains,  and  have  not  love,  I 
am  nothing.  And  though  I  bestow  all  my  goods  to  feed  the 
poor,  and  though  I  give  my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not 
love,  it  profiteth  me  nothing.'  That  a  man  should  really  with 
the  heart  know  God  as  a  pardoning  God,  as  the  royal  Creditor 
who  with  a  kingly  heart  forgave  him  freely  '  all  that  debt,'  and 
yet  be  himself  unloving,  unforgiving  to  his  fellow-servants, — this 
is  always  set  forth  in  Scripture  as  in  the  nature  of  things  utterly 
impossible,  altogether  monstrous.  Here,  then,  you  see,  lies 
the  gist  of  the  apostle's  argument.  '  Murmuring  against  your 
neighbour  implies  uncharitable  judgment  of  him ;  uncharitable  , 
judgment  is  directly  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  true  Christianity ; 
and  consequently  the  man  who  habitually  indulges  in  such 
judgment  has  the  very  greatest  reason  to  fear  that  he  is  not 
a  Christian, — that  he  has  not  been  brought  out  into  the  sphere 
of  pardon,  but  is  still  in  that  oi  judgment,  judgment  to  con- 
demnation. Grudge  not,  then,  one  against  another,  brethren, 
that  ye  be  not  judged.' 


VER.  9-J     Miirmuring  against  Brethren.  379 

'And  bethink  you/  thus  he  continues,  'that  the  time  of  judg- 
ment is  not  far  off:  behold^  the  Judge  standeth  before  the  door.'' 
The  apostle  has  already,  in  the  eighth  verse,  cheered  the  hearts 
of  the  believers,  and  encouraged  them  to  restfulness  of  spirit, 
by  the  assurance  that  '  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh ;' 
and  now  he  brings  in  this  great  fact  again  under  a  lively  figure, 
to  point  and  enforce  his  solemn  warning.  The  statement  bears 
on  both  parts  of  the  previous  exhortation.  'Ye  judge  your 
brethren,'  he  says ;  '  ah,  dear  friends,  this  is  very  foolish  work, 
and  very  needless,  even  if  it  were  lawful :  for  we  cannot  judge 
aright, — and  One  is  very  near  us,  even  at  our  doors,  who  has  a 
commission  to  judge,  and  all  needed  wisdom  for  the  work. 
Even  if  there  be  real  grounds  of  dissatisfaction  among  you, 
then,  you  may  safely  leave  them  all  to  His  decision  ;'  and  re- 
member that  on  the  uncharitable  judges  among  you  His  judg- 
ment will  come  down  in  sternest  condemnation.' 

The  whole  paragraph  from  the  seventh  verse  to  the  eleventh 
is,  as  we  have  seen,  an  exhortation  to  patience :  its  sum  is, 
'  Let  patience  have  her  work  perfect,  broken  neither  by  dis- 
content with  God's  dealings,  nor  by  petulance  with  your  fellow- 
men.'  Of  this,  you  observe,  the  '  grudge  not '  which  we  have 
been  considering  is  a  natural  subdivision ;  and  now,  having 
spoken  of  that  particular  spiritual  peril  briefly,  but  with  sin- 
gular pointedness  and  force,  the  apostle  goes  on  to  support 
his  general  appeal,  by  a  reference  to  a  class  of  examples  very 
familiar  to  the  Jewish  Christians,  and  justly  carrying  great 
weight  with  them, — those  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets. 
They  were  men  of  high  dignity  in  the  service  of  God,  His 
commissioned  ambassadors,  '  ivho  spake  in  His  name^  as  the 
apostle  specially  mentions.  '  If  God  permitted  trouble  to  be- 
fall thevi,  it  need  be  no  matter  of  surprise  to  you  that  affliction 
has  come  upon  you.     Whether  you  can  understand  the  reason 

1  A  very  exact  parallel  is  found  in  Phil.  iv.  5  :  '  Let  your  moderation  ' 
('your  considerate  and  forbearing  spirit,'  'your  being  possessed  of  the 
gentleness  of  heavenly  -wisdom  :'  compare  James  iii.  17  in  the  original)  'be 
known  unto  all  men.  The  Lord  is  at  hand.'  The  argument  is  precisely 
the  same. 


380         Lectiti'cs  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.      [ch.  v, 

for  the  divine  procedure  or  not,  it  is  plain  that  suffering  is  a 
part  of  the  appointed  experience  of  His  people.  And  besides 
being  instructed  by  looking  at  the  simple  fact  that  the  prophets 
had  trouble,  it  becomes  you  also  to  regard  as  well  worthy  of 
imitation  the  conduct  which  those  eminent  servants  of  God 
pursued  under  their  trouble.'  Both  of  these  points  are  expressly 
presented  by  the  apostle. 

^  Take  the  prophets^  he  says,  '■as  an  example  of  afflictions'^ 
A  very  natural  thought  to  young  believers  is,  that  it  is 
strange  that  afflictions  should  continue  with  us  after  conver- 
sion. '  Is  not  affliction  an  element  of  death,  and  have  we 
not  passed  from  death  unto  life  ?  Being  united  to  Christ,  do 
we  not  occupy  a  higher  position  than  Adam  before  his  fall  ? 
And  Adam  unfallen  had  no  affliction.'  Thinking  of  such  diffi- 
culties as  these,  our  apostle  does  not  here,  however,  enter  into 
the  philosophy  of  the  question.  He  has  said  somewhat  on  that 
head  in  the  very  beginning  of  his  letter.  Here  he  contents  him- 
self with  pointing  to  the  undoubted  fact  that  God's  most  illus- 
trious servants  had  suffered.  '  No  strange  thing  has  happened  to 
you,'  he  says,  '  for  the  same  afflictions  have  been  accomplished 
in  your  brethren  which  have  been  in  the  world.'  Moses  had  to 
struggle  for  many  years  with  a  stiff-necked  and  rebelUous  people ; 
David  was  hunted  by  Saul  '  like  a  partridge  on  the  mountains,' 
and  for  years,  like  his  Son  and  Lord,  '  had  not  wherd  to  lay  his 
head,'  and  in  advanced  life  he  had  again  to  become  a  fugitive, 
through  the  rebellion  of  the  son  he  loved  most  dearly;  Elijah's 
life  was  sought  by  the  wicked  rulers  of  Israel  with  vengeful 
fury ;  Jeremiah's  life  was  one  of  continued  persecution ;  and 
similar,  more  or  less,  were  the  experiences  of  all  the  holy 
men  of  old.  '  Which  of  the  prophets,'  Stephen  asks  the  San- 
hedrim, '  have  not  your  fathers  persecuted  ?'  To  suffer  in  the 
same  cause  with  men  like  these  should  surely  be  deemed  an 
honour  and  a  source  of  thankfulness.  '  Take  them  also,  then,' 
says  the  apostle,  '■as  an  example  of  patience ;''  'look  not  merely 
at  their  sufferings,  but  at  their  spirit  under  it.'     '  INIoses  was 

^  The  word  '  suffering, '  which  our  translators  have  inserted  here,  is  quite 
unneeded,  and  indeed  obscures  the  meaning. 


VER.  II.]    Murmtiring against  Brethren.  381 

very  meek,'  the  Scripture  tells  us,  '  above  all  the  men  that  were 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth.'  David  in  time  of  trouble  says,  '  I 
was  dumb,  I  opened  not  my  mouth,  because  Thou  didst  it;' 
'  I  know,  O  Lord,  that  Thy  judgments  are  right,  and  that  Thou 
in  faithfulness  hast  afflicted  me.'  Jeremiah  says,  'Wherefore 
should  a  living  man  complain,  a  man  for  the  punishment  of 
his  sins  ?  Let  us  search  and  try  our  ways,  and  turn  again  to 
th^  Lord.'  This  is  the  spirit  in  which  trouble  ought  to  be 
borne, — this  is  the  exercise  of  soul  through  which  it  will  'bear 
peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness.'  '  Take  then,  my  brethren, 
the  prophets  who  have  spoken  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  for 
an  example  of  affliction  and  of  patience.' 

By  his  '■behohV  the  apostle  calls  special  attention  to  his  next 
remark,  as  presenting  something  of  particular  weight,  crowning 
his  arguments  for  patience.  '  We  count  them  happy ' — call  them 
blessed — '  which  endure.^  AVe  have  here  another  reference  to 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Coming,  as  these  words  do,  imme- 
diately after  the  allusion  to  the  example  of  the  prophets,  we 
cannot  doubt  that  the  writer  had  before  his  mind  the  passage 
which  closes  the  beatitudes  :  '  Blessed  are  they  which  are  per- 
secuted for  righteousness'  sake  ;  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  perse- 
cute you,  and  shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely 
for  My  sake.  Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad  :  for  great  is 
your  reward  in  heaven  ;  for  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets 
which  were  before  you.'  'Now,'  says  James,  '  it  is  one  of  the 
great  principles  taught  by  the  Lord,  and  of  which  as  Christians 
we  have  professed  our  acceptance,  that  they  who  endure  are 
blessed.  Prove,  then,  by  your  conduct  that  you  understand 
this  truth,  and  really  believe  it.  Being  called  in  God's  provi- 
dence to  suffer,  see  that  you  endure.'  For  '■endure''  here,  as 
you  see,  is  not,  as  we  sometimes  employ  the  word,  '  to  be  in 
affliction  '  merely,  but  '  to  bear  affliction  patiently,'  the  word 
in  the  original  being  indeed  the  verbal  form  of  the  noun  in 
the  next  clause  rendered  '  patience.' 

'  Them  which  endure  we  count  happy '  or  '  blessed^  for  various 
reasons.     They  are  '  blessed '  through  the  growth  in  spiritual 


382         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

beauty  and  strength  which  patient  endurance  gives  them.  '  I 
am  the  true  Vine,  and  My  Father  is  the  Husbandman.  Every 
branch  in  Me  that  beareth  fruit,  He  purgeth  it,  that  it  may  bring 
forth  more  fruit ;'  and  '  endurance '  is  the  acceptance  of  the  work 
of  the  pruning-knife.  The  waters  of  the  fountain-head,  the  heart, 
being  purified  through  penitence  and  faith,  the  heahng  cruse  of 
salt, — a  pellucid  stream  of  holiness  must  ultimately  flow  by  every 
channel  throughout  the  whole  man ;  and  by  affliction  '  endured ' 
God  graciously  quickens  the  work,  deepening  the  channels  and 
increasing  their  dechne.  '  They  that  endure  '  are  '  blessed,'  too, 
in  the  joy  that  they  have  through  increasing  knowledge  of  God. 
'  Tribulation  worketh  patience,  and  patience  experience,  and 
experience  hope.'  And  through  that  '  hope '  they  are  '  blessed ' 
in  the  knowledge  that  a  glorious  reward  awaits  them.  '  The 
light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  out  a 
far  more  exceeding,  even  an  eternal  weight  of  glory.'  '  It  is 
a  faithful  saying.  If  we  suffer  with  Him,  we  shall  also  reign 
with  Him.' 

The  general  thought,  '  Trouble  patiently  endured  has  a 
happy  issue,'  leads  now  to  the  mention  of  an  illustration  from 
Bible  history  in  which  this  is  very  strikingly  exemplified  :  '  Ye 
have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,  and  have  seen  the  end  of  the 
Lord,  that  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and  of  tender  nwcy.^ 

'The  end  of  the  Lord^  is  a  somewhat  singular  expression. 
By  some  interpreters  it  has  been  supposed  to  mean  '  the 
closing  scene  of  the  life  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;'  the  arguments 
put  forward  in  support  of  this  view  being, — that  this  sense  comes 
naturally  out  of  the  words ;  that  it  would  be  strange  if,  when 
examples  of  patience  are  cited  by  an  apostle,  the  grand  ex- 
ample given  by  Jesus,  when  He  '  endured  the  contradiction  of 
sinners  against  Himself  in  the  judgment-hall  and  on  the  cross, 
were  omitted  ;  and  that  by  the  use  of  the  words  '  heard '  and 
'  seen,'  in  the  two  clauses  respectively,  a  reference  seems  to  be 
intimated  in  the  former  case  to  an  instance  long  past,  known 
only  by  history,  in  the  latter  to  one  which  some  of  the  readers 
had  themselves  witnessed.  This  is  ingenious;  but  the  more 
closely  we  look  at  the  passage,  the  more  we  shall  be  convinced 


VER,  II.]    M^irmiiring  against  Br ethreji.  383 

that  the  view  is  wholly  unnatural.  The  seeming  equality  on 
which  the  cases  of  Job  and  the  Saviour  would  thus  be  put, 
is  entirely  alien  from  Scripture  usage.  The  last  clause  of  the 
verse,  too,  would  have  no  very  manifest  pertinence  or  force 
in  its  connection.  Further  (and  this  alone  might  decide  the 
question),  we  should,  on  this  view  of  the  meaning,  merely 
have  additional  examples  of  patience,  not  advancing  the  argu- 
ment,— examples  unnaturally  separated  from  those  already 
given  by  the  first  clause  of  the  verse,  and  in  no  way  specially 
illustrating  it.  The  arguments  in  support  of  this  interpreta- 
tion are  easily  answered.  If  the  view  of  the  meaning  of  the 
sixth  verse  which  we  have  seen  reason  to  adopt  be  the  true 
one,  then  the  patience  of  the  Lord  Jesus  has  been  referred 
to  with  peculiar  impressiveness.  At  all  events,  it  is  certainly 
not  our  part  to  say  dogmatically  that  a  particular  line  of  illus- 
tration ought  to  be  taken  in  any  part  of  Holy  Scripture ;  and 
meek,  conscientious  study  will  always  deepen  our  conviction, 
that  what  has  been  given  is  the  best  that  could  be  given — the 
utterance  of  infinite  wisdom  and  kindness.  As  for  the  use  of 
'heard'  and  'seen,'  these  words  fall  in  at  least  as  naturally 
with  a  reference  of  the  whole  to  Job  :  '  Ye  have  heard — in  the 
readings  in  the  synagogue  and  in  religious  addresses  and  con- 
versations— of  the  patience  of  Job ;  and,  in  considering  his 
history,  have  seen  the  close  that  God  gave  to  his  career.' 
This,  no  doubt,  is  the  meaning :  '  the  Lord's  conclusion^ 
granted  to  the  life  in  which  patience  was  so  signally  shown, — 
'  the  end  given  by  the  Lord;''  just  as,  for  example,  *  perils 
of  robbers,'  as  Paul  uses  the  expression  in  Second  Corinthians, 
are  '  perils  caused  by  robbers,'  not  '  perils  encountered  by 
them.' 

This  is  the  only  place  in  the  New  Testament  where  Job  is 
referred  to  ;  and  by  it,  as  well  as  by  the  allusions  in  Ezekiel  to 
that  patriarch  in  conjunction  with  Noah  and  Daniel,  the  Divine 
Spirit  teaches  us  that  the  book  which  tells  us  of  him  is,  in  its 
basis  at  least,  a  history,  and  not,  as  many  have  been  disposed 
to  think,  a  fictitious  poem. 

'  Ye  have  seen  the  end  of  the  Lord.''     'The  Lord,'  as  the 


384         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

sacred  record  tells  us,  'turned  the  captivity  of  Job,  and 
blessed  his  latter  end  more  than  his  beginning.'  Here  is 
illustrated  the  justice  of  our  reckoning  when  '  we  count  them 
happy  which  endure.'  The  happy  issue  (or  rather  its  mani- 
fest beginning)  may  not  come  perhaps,  as  it  did  in  Job's  case, 
in  this  world  ;  but  certainly  to  all  affliction  endured  with  Chris- 
tian patience  there  will  come  a  happy  issue.  The  '  end  ' 
which  the  Lord  gave  to  Job  exemplified  the  truth  '  that  the 
Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and  of  tender  mercy  ^^  that  '  He  doth  not 
afflict  Avillingly,  nor  grieve  the  children  of  men.'  As  we 
muse  on  his  history,  we  feel  the  assurance  brought  home  to 
our  hearts,  which  James  has  giyen  us  before,  that  '  Blessed  is 
the  man  that  endureth  temptation ;  for  when  he  is  tried,  he 
shall  receive  the  crown  of  life  which  the  Lord  hath  promised 
to  them  that  love  Him,'  However  'great'  the  'tribulation' 
be  which  God  allots  us  in  His  providence,  yet  all  they  that 
'  have  washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb  come  out  of  it.''  Then  'are  they  before  the 
throne  of  God,  and  serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple  : 
and  He  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them. 
They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more  ;  neither 
shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall 
lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters;  and  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes.' 

1  The  connection  of  this  clause  with  the  preceding  may  be,  and  not  im- 
probably is,  a  little  different  from  that  exhibited  by  the  authorized  version  ; 
the  introductory  particle  being  taken  in  the  esnse  of  '  for '  or  '  because,' 
instead  of  '  that.'     See  the  Notes  on  the  Greek  Text. 


VER.  12.]  Swearing.  385 


XXVIII. 
SWEARING. 

'  But  above  all  things,  my  brethren,  swear  not ;  neither  by  heaven,  neither 
by  the  earth,  neither  by  any  other  oath  :  but  let  your  yea  be  yea  ;  and 
your  nay,  nay  ;  lest  ye  fall  into  condemnation.' — ^James  V,  12. 

THE  apostle  has  now  said  nearly  all  that  it  was  in  his 
heart  to  say  to  his  brethren  in  the  letter ;  but  there 
still  remain  a  few  things  to  which  he  desires  to  draw  their 
attention,  and  these  he  gathers  up  in  conclusion.  In  the 
exhortations  that  follow,  then,  we  are  not  to  look  for  that 
closeness  of  connection  in  thought  which  we  have  found  to 
exist  generally  throughout  the  earlier  part  of  the  Epistle.  In 
our  own  familiar  letters,  you  know,  when  we  are  coming  near 
the  close,  we  consider  whether  there  be  any  other  things  which 
we  should  wish  to  say  to  our  friend ;  and  if  there  be,  we  state 
them  often  in  a  very  isolated  way.  Something  of  the  same 
kind  is  found  in  almost  all  the  apostolic  letters,  and  is  one  of 
the  many  evidences  of  that  genuine  human  element  in  the 
Word  of  God,  appealing  to  brotherly  sympathy,  which  has 
somewhat  to  do  with  the  winning  power  exercised  by  the 
sacred  record  over  all  candid  hearts.  These  exhortations  of 
James,  however,  do  not  seem  to  stand  altogether  unconnected ; 
and  the  thought  binding  the  precept  in  the  twelfth  verse  to 
what  immediately  precedes  is  evidently  this,  that  impatience 
under  trouble  often  leads  to  the  use  of  wild,  wicked  language, 
dishonouring  to  God  and  hurtful  to  the  soul. 

'■But  above  all  things^  my  brethre?i,  swear  not;  neither  by 
heaven,  neither  by  the  earth,  neither  by  any  other  oath.''  Here 
again  we  have  an  unmistakeable  reference  to  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount ;  and,  indeed,  James's  words  are  simply  a  repetition,  in 

2  B 


386         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  ymnes.      [ch.  v. 

a  somewhat  condensed  form,  of  the  injunction  there  given  by 
Jesus  :  '  But  I  say  unto  you,  Swear  not  at  all :  neither  by  heaven  ; 
for  it  is  God's  throne  :  nor  by  the  earth  ;  for  it  is  His  footstool : 
neither  by  Jerusalem ;  for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  King. 
Neither  shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head,  because  thou  canst  not 
make  one  hair  white  or  black.  But  let  your  communication 
be.  Yea,  yea ;  Nay,  nay :  for  whatsoever  is  more  than  these 
Cometh  of  evil '  (Matt.  v.  34-37).  The  terms  of  the  injunction 
in  both  places  are  universal,  'Swear  not,'  'Swear  not  at  all.' 
Whether  the  universality  be  absolute  or  relative,  however — 
whether  swearing  under  any  circumstances  be  prohibited,  or 
merely  all  oaths  of  a  particular  kind — must  be  decided  by  an 
examination  of  the  context,  and  the  general  teaching  of  Scrip- 
ture. 'Thou  shalt  not  kill,'  is  a  precept  universal  in  terms; 
yet  ordinary  good  sense  sees  it  to  be  perfectly  compatible  with 
that  other,  '  Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his 
blood  be  shed.'  The  act  of  a  magistrate  in  inflicting  capital 
punishment  on  a  murderer,  is  felt  not  to  come  within  the 
sweep  of  the  universality ;  which  therefore  is  relative,  not 
absolute.  The  command  regarding  swearing  is  held,  as  you 
know,  by  the  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  some 
other  small  bodies  of  Christians,  to  be  of  absolute  universality ; 
so  that  they  consider  it  wrong  to  take  an  oath  in  a  court  of 
justice,  and  are  by  our  laws  permitted  to  substitute  a  simple 
affirmation.  By  the  church  generally,  it  has  been  held  that 
the  prohibition  does  not  extend  to  all  oaths.  The  grounds  of 
this  view  are  very  strong ;  and  as  the  matter  is  one  of  consJ4er- 
able  practical  importance,  I  shall  endeavour  to  set  them  b^re 
you  somewhat  fully. 

It  seems  plain  that  an  oath  has  nothing  in  its  own  nature 
immoral.  It  is  an  appeal  to  Him  who  knows  the  heart 
regarding  the  truth  of  testimony  or  the  sincerity  of  pro- 
mises. Now  nothing  is  clearer  than  that  it  is  our  duty  to 
have  a  sense  of  the  presence  of  the  Omniscient  always  with 
us  as  a  governing  power;  and  it  can  scarcely  be  wrong  in 
itself  for  a  person  who,  while  making  a  declaration,  is  deeply 
influenced  by  the  thought,  '  Thou  God  seest  me,'  to  say  so. 


VER.  12.]  Swearing.  387 

'  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain,' 
is  a  precept  of  universal  and  perpetual  obligation ;  but  if,  as 
has]  been  generally  held,  the  commandment  has  a  special, 
though  by  no  means  exclusive,  reference  to  oaths,  the  very 
mode  of  expression  suggests  that  circumstances  may  occur  in 
which,  for  the  confirmation  of  testimony,  we  may  and  should 
'  take '  that  glorious  name  on  our  lips,  if  only  we  do  this 
thoughtfully  and  solemnly.  A  reverential  oath  honours,  not 
dishonours,  God ;  though  an  oath  on  the  lips  of  a  man  whose 
heart  is  heedless  of  God,  whose  state  of  soul  is  in  no  accord- 
ance with  his  words  of  solemn  appeal,  is  a  glaring  insult  to  the 
divine  majesty.  It  is  true  that,  in  the  intercourse  of  perfect 
beings,  there  would  be  no  oaths,  because  so  entire  would  be 
their  mutual  confidence,  that  oaths  would  be  altogether  need- 
less ;  and  in  a  sense,  therefore,  though  not  exactly  the  sense 
in  which  the  expression  is  used  in  the  passage,  'whatsoever  is 
more  than  Yea,  yea.  Nay,  nay,'  in  every  case  '  cometh  of  evil,' 
for  it  would  not  have  existed  had  there  been  no  moral  evil  in 
the  world.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  we  are  in  a  world  of  con- 
tention and  broken  confidence ;  and  if  in  any  case  '  an  oath 
for  confirmation '  is  to  be  '  an  end  of  all  strife,'  then  we  can 
hardly  suppose  its  use  at  times  inconsistent  with  the  religion 
which  aims  at  putting  '  an  end  to  all  strife'  by  diffusing  '  peace 
on  earth.' 

We  find  accordingly,  that,  under  the  Old  Economy,  to  swear 
in  certain  circumstances  by  the  name  of  the  Lord  was  a  matter 
of  express  and  repeated  divine  command.  '  Thou  shalt  fear 
the  Lord  thy  God,  and  serve  Him,  and  shalt  swear  by  His 
name'  (Deut.  vi.  13).  Again:  'Thou  shalt  fear  the  Lord  thy 
God;  Him  shalt  thou  serve,  and  to  Him  shalt  thou  cleave, 
and  swear  by  His  name'  (Deut.  x.  20).  And  in  the  judicial 
law  particular  cases  were  specified  in  which  the  decision  be- 
tween contending  parties  was  to  be  by  means  of  an  oath. 
For  example  :  '  If  a  man  deliver  unto  his  neighbour  an  ass,  or 
an  ox,  or  a  sheep,  or  any  beast  to  keep ;  and  it  die,  or  be  hurt, 
or  driven  away,  no  man  seeing  it :  then  shall  an  oath  of  the 
Lord  be  between  them  both,  that  he  hath  not  put  his  hand 


2,SS         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  ya7nes.      [ch.  v. 

unto  his  neighbour's  goods ;  and  the  owner  of  it  shall  accept 
thereof,  and  he  shall  not  make  it  good'  (Ex.  xxii.  lo,  ii). 
Apart  from  judicial  procedure,  we  have  mention  made  in  Scrip- 
ture of  oaths  sworn  by  eminent  servants  of  God  at  times  when 
they  were  plainly  under  the  influence  of  the  loftiest  inspiration. 
For  example  r  'And  Elijah  the  Tishbite,  who  was  of  the  inha- 
bitants of  Gilead,  said  unto  Ahab,  As  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
liveth,  before  whom  I  stand,  there  shall  not  be  dew  nor  rain 
these  years,  but  according  to  my  word'  (i  Kings  xvii.  i). 

Supposing  it,  however,  to  be  proved  beyond  controversy, 
that  sincere  and  solemn  oath-taking  was  permitted  under  the 
Old  Dispensation,  it  may  be  held  that  this,  like  polygamy  and 
slavery,  was  not  approved  by  God,  but  only  tolerated  'for 
the  hardness  of  the  people's  hearts.'  Isaiah  has  a  passage 
strikingly  contradictory  of  this  view,  where,  speaking  of  the 
church  of  the  latter  days — the  days  of  Messiah — he  mentions 
it  among  the  characteristic  features  of  that  time,  that '  he  who 
blesseth  himself  in  the  earth,  shall  bless  himself  in  the  God  of 
truth ;  and  he  that  sweareth  in  the  earth,  shall  swear  by  the 
God  of  truth  ;  because  the  former  troubles  are  forgotten,  and 
because  they  are  hid  from  mine  eyes'  (Isa.  Ixv.  i6).  Looking 
into  the  New  Testament  for  illustration  of  the  will  of  God  on 
this  matter,  we  find  that  our  perfect  example,  the  Lord  Jesus, 
took  an  oath  before  a  magistrate.  '  The  high  priest  answered 
and  said  unto  Him,  I  adjure  thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou 
tell  us  whether  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  Jesus 
saith  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said '  (Matt.  xxvi.  63,  64).  Accord- 
ing to  Jewish  law,  this  was  a  declaration  on  oath,  as  fully 
as  if  the  Lord  had  Himself  employed  words  corresponding  to 
those  used  by  the  high  priest.  ^  Express  appeals  to  God  for 
confirmation  of  testimony  we  have  in  such  words  of  the  Apostle 
Paul  as  these  :  '  Moreover,  I  call  God  for  a  record  upon 
my  soul,  that  to  spare  you  I  came  not  as  yet  unto  Corinth ' 

1  For  evidence  from  rabbinical  books  that  this  was  a  mode  of  taking  an 
oath  deemed  binding,  see  the  Rev.  Thomas  Robinson's  The  Evangelists 
and  the  Mishna,  p.  152;  or  Tholuck's  Commentary  on  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  p.  254,  note  (Clark's  Foreign  Theological  Library). 


VER.  12.]  Swearing.  389 

(2  Cor.  i.  23) ;  '  The  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  which  is  blessed  for  evermore,  knoweth  that  I  he  not ' 
(2  Cor.  xi.  31);  'Now  the  things  which  I  write  unto  you, 
behold,  before  God,  I  lie  not'  (Gal.  i.  20).  Now  it  is  true 
that  Paul  was  not  a  perfect  man,  and  none  could  be  readier 
than  he  to  confess  daily  sin ;  but  it  is  one  of  '  the  things  most 
surely  beUeved  among  us,'  that  in  writing  those  letters  which 
are  contained  in  the  New  Testament  he  wrote  'as  he  was 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,'  and  that  thus  all  his  words  have 
divine  sanction.  In  the  Apocalypse  an  angel  is  represented  as 
confirming  his  declaration  by  an  oath  :  '  And  the  angel  which 
I  saw  stand  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the  earth  lifted  up  his  hand 
to  heaven,  and  sware  by  Him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  who 
created  heaven  and  the  things  that  therein  are,  and  the  earth 
and  the  things  that  therein  are,  and  the  sea  and  the  things 
which  are  therein,  that  there  should  be  time  no  longer '  (Rev. 
X.  5,  6).  Nay,  God  Himself  is  many  times  described  in  His 
Word  as  condescending  to  strengthen  the  feeble  faith  of  men 
by  thus  confirming  His  declarations.  Instances  are  so  nume- 
rous in  which  He  is  said  to  have  sworn  by  Himself  (*  As  I  live, 
saith  the  Lord '),  that  I  need  not  quote  any  particular  cases. 
We  have  no  case  of  this  indeed  in  the  New  Testament ;  but 
however  God  may  have  permitted  among  His  ancient  people 
conduct  which  for  us,  under  gospel  light,  is  sinful,  His  own 
actings  at  all  times  must  be  held  to  exemplify  absolute 
holiness. 

My  argument,  then,  on  this  part  of  the  subject  is  complete. 
The  Israelites  had  a  divine  command  to  swear  in  certain 
circumstances  ;  oaths  were  taken  by  illustrious  servants  of  God 
under  both  economies,  at  times  when  they  were  undoubtedly 
under  the  influence  of  inspiration ;  and  even  by  God  Himself, 
alike  in  the  lowliness  of  humanity,  assumed  for  our  redemp- 
tion, and  in  His  glory.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  injunction 
of  the  Apostle  James  in  the  verse  under  consideration,  and 
that  of  the  Saviour  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  of  which 
this  is  a  repetition,  have  relation  not  absolutely  to  all  oaths, 
but  only  to  all  of  a  particular  kind. 


390         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

An  expression  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  enables  us  to 
put  the  demonstration  in  a  very  concise  form.  '  Let  your 
communication  be  Yea,  yea,  Nay,  nay ;  for  whatsoever  is  more 
than  these  cometh  of  evil.'  These  last  words  are  plainly 
not  restricted  to  time  or  dispensation  :  they  teach  that  there 
is  something  essentially  immoral  in  the  excess — the  '  more 
than  these' — of  which  our  Lord  speaks.  Now  God,  the  abso- 
lutely Holy  One,  has  many  times  given  more  than  a  simple 
'  Yea,  yea.  Nay,  nay,'  confirming  His  declarations  of  judgment 
or  of  mercy  by  an  oath,  '  that  by  two  immutable  things,  in 
which  it  was  impossible  for  God  to  lie,'  sinners  on  the  one 
hand  might  be  roused  to  repentance,  and  on  the  other,  those 
'  might  have  a  strong  consolation,  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to 
lay  hold  upon  the  hope  set  before  us.'  It  is  manifest,  then, 
that  the  '  more  than  these '  has  relation  to  a  class  of  oaths 
only,  not  to  all.^ 

An  examination  of  the  details  in  the  form  of  the  injunction, 
as  given  either  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  or  in  James,  fully 
supports  this  conclusion.  '  Swear  not  at  all,'  says  the  Lord, — 
'  neither  by  heaven,  for  if  is  God's  throne ;  nor  by  the  earth, 
for  it  is  His  footstool ;  neither  by  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  the  city 
of  the  great  King.  Neither  shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head, 
because  thou  canst  not  make  one  hair  white  or  black.' 
Similarly  His  apostle  :  '  Swear  not,  neither  by  heaven,  neither 
by  the  earth.'  Among  the  ways  in  which  the  Pharisees  had 
made  void  God's  law  by  their  traditions,  was  their  introduction 
into  the  system  of  oaths  of  such  subtleties  as  we  have  learned 
in  modern  times  to  call  Jesuitical.  The  form  of  swearing 
enjoined  by  the  law  was  hi  the  name  of  God:  '  As  the  Lord 
liveth.'  Now,  maintaining  the  awful  solemnity  and  binding 
obligation  of  this  oath,  and  of  one  or  two  others — such  as, 
*  By  the  gold  of  the  temple ' — to  which  for  some  reason  they 
attached  a  peculiar  sacredness,  the  Pharisees  taught  also  that 
most  forms  of  oath  were  comparatively  light,  might  be  used 

^  The  argument  is  exhibited  pretty  nearly  as  above  by  Dr.  Wardlaw,  to 
whose  exposition  of  this  verse  (as  also  to  Dr.  Adam's)  I  have  been  much 
indebted. 


VER.  12.]  Swearing.  391 

freely  in  ordinary  conversation,  and  need  not  be  regarded 
as  in  any  way  specially  obligatory.  To  this  monstrous  teach- 
ing, glaringly  foolish  as  well  as  wicked,  our  Lord  adverts  at 
length  in  His  great  discourse  on  the  iniquity  of  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees,  spoken  three  days  before  His  crucifixion  :  '  Woe 
unto  you,  ye  blind  guides  !  which  say.  Whosoever  shall  swear 
by  the  temple,  it  is  nothing ;  but  whosoever  shall  swear  by  the 
gold  of  the  temple,  he  is  a  debtor.  Ye  fools  and  blind  !  for 
whether  is  greater,  the  gold,  or  the  temple  that  sanctifieth  the 
gold  ?  And,  Whosoever  shall  swear  by  the  altar,  it  is  nothing  ; 
but  whosoever  sweareth  by  the  gift  that  is  upon  it,  he  is  guilty. 
Ye  fools  and  blind  !  for  whether  is  greater,  the  gift,  or  the  altar 
that  sanctifieth  the  gift  ?  Whoso  therefore  shall  swear  by  the 
altar,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  all  things  thereon.  And  whoso 
sweareth  by  the  temple,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  Him  that 
dwelleth  therein.  And  he  that  shall  swear  by  heaven,  sweareth 
by  the  throne  of  God,  and  by  Him  that  sitteth  thereon '  (Matt, 
xxiii.  16-22).  Now  you  observe  that  the  forms  of  oath  adduced 
both  by  Jesus  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  by  James,  in 
illustration  of  the  reference  of  their  injunctions,  are  all  of  the 
secondary  kind — oaths  'by  heaven,' '  by  the  earth,'  and  the  like  ; 
the  Lord  showing,  in  what  He  says  of  them,  that  if  these  forms 
had  any  meaning  or  force  at  all,  this  was  derived  from  the 
thing  named  being  conceived  as  in  some  close  relation  to  God, 
and  that  consequently  their  light  use  involved  irreverence  to 
the  divine  majesty.  The  oath  by  the  name  of  God,  the  ap- 
pointed formula,  is  not  alluded  to  either  by  the  Lord  or  His 
apostle ;  and  this  omission  of  the  great  fundamental  oath  (the 
oath  which  must  always  have  been  foremost  in  the  mind  of  a 
Jew,  when  there  was  any  discourse  on  the  subject  of  oaths 
generally)  must  be  held,  it  appears  to  me,  as  intended  to 
show  that  under  the  Christian  dispensation  also  that  grand 
oath  may  be  taken,  under  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was 
lawful  under  Judaism,  whilst  all  others  are  absolutely  for- 
bidden. Jamd^s's  words,  '■by  any  other  oath,''  might  be  sup- 
posed to  include  the  great  oath,  'As  the  Lord  liveth.'  But 
comparing,  by  way  of  commentary,  the  more  detailed  illustra- 


392         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  Raines,      [ch.  v. 

tions  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  of  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  verse  in  James  is  obviously  merely  a  condensed  repetition ; 
and  considering  that,  if  the  grand  fundamental  formula  had 
been  in  the  apostle's  thoughts  as  included  in  his  prohibition, 
it  would  certainly  have  been  expressly  mentioned,  and  not 
thrown  in  incidentally  under  a  mere  et  cetera, — we  cannot  doubt 
that  by  '  any  other  oath '  he  means  '  any  other  oath  of  the  same 
kind' — such,  namely,  as  were  freely  used  in  careless,  trivial  talk. 

The  sum  of  the  matter,  then,  seems  to  be  this,  that,  consist- 
ently with  the  law  of  Christ,  an  oath  may  be  taken  in  a  court 
of  justice,  or  in  great  religious  crises,  such  as  those  in  which 
Elijah  and  Paul  employed  it, — times  when  men  feel  themselves 
with  special  vividness  to  be  in  the  presence  of  the  unseen 
divine  Judge.  Such  crises,  calling  for  express  appeals  to  God 
by  way  of  oath,  must  be  determined  by  the  individual  Christian 
judgment ;  but  they  can  occur  but  rarely,  I  should  suppose,  in 
any  life,  and  in  the  quiet  lives  of  most  believers  will  never 
occur  at  all.  The  oath,  too,  is  always  to  be  a  direct,  express 
appeal  to  God,  not  any  circuitous  form  ;  and  the  heart  must  be 
full  of  reverence  and  godly  fear,  accordant  with  the  solemnity 
of  the  words.^ 

The  earnestness  of  our  apostle's  exhortation  to  avoid  swear- 
ing under  all  other  circumstances,  to  avoid  all  oaths  of  passion 
or  thoughtlessness,  is  shown  by  his  introductory  words,  '  Above 
all  things,^ — the  force  of  which,  in  their  connection,  is  plainly, 
'  Guard  yourselves  with  pre-eminent  care  against  this  sin.'  The 
grounds  of  this  'above  all  things'  are  various.  Thus,  for 
example,  the  facility  with  which  the  sin  is  committed,  and  its 
consequent  frightful  commonness.  From  one  point  of  view  it 
seems  strange  that  this  vice  should  be  common ;  for  surely  of 
all  kinds  of  sin  it  is  the  most  utterly  gratuitous — the  most  abso- 
lutely unremunerative,  even  in  regard  to  the  wretched  sort  of 
remuneration  that  sin  ever  gives.  Covetousness,  pride,  false- 
hood, and  even  the  lowest  sensual  vices,  do  or  may  bring  some 
temporary  advantage,  enjoyment,  or  excitement;  but  profanity 

^  Thei'e  are  some  good  observations  on  the  subject  of  oaths  in  Harless's 
Christian  Ethics,  pp.  333-336  (Clark's  Foreign  Theological  Library). 


VER.  12.]  Swearing.  393 

brings  no  gain.  Indeed,  even  before  fellow-men  it  brings  no- 
thing but  loss  ;  for,  besides  exciting  the  disapproval  and  dis- 
gust of  all  good  men,  the  person  who  habitually  supports  his 
assertions  by  an  oath  seems  thereby  to  obtrude  an  acknow- 
ledgment that  he  considers  his  bare  word  unlikely,  and  indeed 
unworthy,  to  be  believed.  And  when  a  person  thus  puts  his 
own  moral  worth  low,  men  will  naturally  take  him  at  his  own 
valuation.  Yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  this  sin  has  always  been  a 
common  one.  Many  instances  of  swearing  recorded  in  the 
Old  Testament  show  that  even  the  great  oath  by  the  Lord  was 
often  used  with  much  irreverence ;  and  the  statements  of  our 
Lord,  and  of  James  in  the  text,  show  that  in  later  days,  though 
the  Pharisees  had  taught  the  people  to  abstain  from  taking 
the  'name'  of  the  Lord  in  vain  literally,  yet  other  oaths  were 
constantly  heard.  A  writer  who  has  spent  many  years  as  a 
missionary  in  Syria  says :  '  This  people  are  fearfully  profane. 
Everybody  curses  and  swears  when  in  a  passion.  No  people 
that  I  have  ever  known  can  compare  with  these  Orientals  for 
profaneness  in  the  use  of  the  names  and  attributes  of  God. 
The  evil  habit  seems  inveterate  and  universal.  When  Peter, 
therefore,  began  to  curse  and  to  swear  on  that  dismal  night  of 
temptation,  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  it  was  something  foreign 
to  his  former  habits.  He  merely  relapsed,  under  high  excite- 
ment, into  what,  as  a  sailor  and  a  fisherman,  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  all  his  life.  The  people  now  use  the  very  same 
sort  of  oaths  that  are  mentioned  and  condemned  by  our  Lord. 
They  swear  by  the  head,  by  their  life,  by  heaven,  and  by  the 
temple,  or,  what  is  in  its  place,  the  church.  The  forms  of 
cursing  and  swearing,  however,  are  almost  infinite,  and  fall  on 
ihe  pained  ear  all  day  long.'^ 

Among  ourselves,  too,  as  you  know,  this  vice  is  lamentably 
common.  One  can  hardly  go  a  little  way  along  a  street  with- 
out hearing  some  blasphemy,  and,  alas,  very  often  from  the 
lips  of  the  young.  It  might  well  be  doubted,  brethren,  whether 
there  can  be  a  more  striking  evidence  of  the  existence  and 

1  Dr.  Thomson's  The  Land  and  the  Book,  pp.  190,  191  (Nelson's 
edition). 


394         Lectures  on  the- Epistle  of  yames.      [ch.  v. 

energy  of  human  depravity,  than  the  fact  that  our  boys  and 
girls  so  often  count  it  a  proof  of  their  becoming  men  and 
women,  and  '  putting  away  childish  things,'  to  blaspheme  their 
Maker.  And  not  oaths  only,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word, 
but  also  the  most  profane  and  unclean  ribaldry,  and  the  most 
horrible  curses,  pollute  the  air.  Imprecations  are  flippantly 
tossed  about,  which  would  utterly  shock  the  person  who  utters 
them,  if  even  for  a  moment  he  thought  of  their  meaning ;  and 
the  names  of  the  most  solemn  realities  in  the  universe  are 
thrown  carelessly  from  the  lips,  as  if  they  were  but  figments  of 
a  foolish  imagination.  Now  all  the  sins  of  the  tongue,  swear- 
ing among  them,  need  to  be  guarded  against  with  particular 
care,  from  the  facility  with  which  they  are  committed  ;  and  the 
prevalence  of  any  vice,  and  especially  a  sin  of  the  tongue,  in 
the  community  we  live  among,  increases  the  temptation,  and 
renders  vigilance  doubly  needful.  '  Above  all  tilings^  then, 
'  swear  not.' 

Another  ground  for  the  apostle's  special  earnestness  in  the 
present  exhortation  is,  that  this  sin  is  peculiarly  dishonouring 
to  God,  and  deadening  to  the  moral  nature  of  him  who  prac- 
tises it.  Reverence  for  God  is  the  basis  of  all  that  is  truly 
beautiful  and  noble  in  God's  moral  creatures.  The  first  peti- 
tion of  every  wise  man's  prayer  is,  '  Hallowed  be  Thy  name,' 
for  in  this  is  summed  up  all  good.  Now  profane  swearing  is  a 
direct  defiance  of  God,  or,  at  the  least,  involves  vast  irreverence ; 
and  the  habit  hardens  the  soul  against  that  sentiment  which 
alone  can  lift  us  into  true  happiness  and  spiritual  beauty. 
The  swearer  systematically  prepares  his  heart  to  be  the  high- 
way of  all  wicked  thoughts  and  affections. 

Surely,  then,  in  every  aspect,  this  exhortation  is  one  which 
it  becomes  a  servant  of  God  to  deliver  with  all  earnestness  : 
'  Above  all  things,  my  brethren,  swear  not.' 

'  But  let  your  yea  be  yeaj  and  your  nay,  nay.''  Taken  by  them- 
selves, these  words  might  signify,  '  Let  your  statements  be 
always  true,  your  yes  always  meaning  yes,  and  your  no,  no ;' 
and  this  thought,  I  think,  is  included  in  or  suggested  by  their 
force  here.     But  in  their  present  connection,  and  as  illustrated 


VER.  12.]  Swearing.  395 

by  the  parallel  expression  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  they 
plainly  mean  primarily,  '  Let  your  assertions  be  free  from  all 
foolish  and  wicked  expletives ;  let  your  Yes  be  simple  Yes,  and 
your  No  simple  No.'  A  consistently  truthful,  candid  character, 
such  as  the  principles  of  the  gospel  will  produce  in  a  man,  in 
the  measure  in  which  they  are  understood  and  believed,  will 
give  his  simplest  words  weight.  You  observe  that  this  injunc- 
tion excludes  from  the  Christian's  vocabulary  everything  of  the 
nature  of  minced  oaths,  as  well  as  those  more  pronounced. 
Such  expressions  are  foolish,  and  in  utterly  bad  taste,  and  with 
any  sensible  hearer  weaken  rather  than  strengthen  credit ;  and 
the  use  of  them  tends  to  enervate  the  soul,  diminishing  reve- 
rence for  God  and  for  naked  truth. 

'  Lest  ye  fall  into  condemnation ' — that  condemnation  which 
the  Lord  has  expressly  threatened  :  '  Thou  shalt  not  take  the 
name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain  ;  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold 
him  guiltless  that  taketh  LLis  name  in  vain.''  This  is  a  sin  which 
with  special  directness  and  glaringness  insults  God  ;  and  there- 
fore certainly,  '  however  the  breakers  of  this  commandment 
may  escape  punishment  from  men,  yet  the  Lord  our  God  will 
not  suffer  them  to  escape  His  righteous  judgment'  This  is  a 
truth  surely  eminently  fitted  to  lead  all  who  ponder  it  to  '  swear 
not  at  all.' 


39^         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 


XXIX. 
PRAYER    AND    PRAISE. 

'  Is  any  among  you  afflicted  ?  Let  him  pray.  Is  any  merry  ?  Let  him  sing 
psalms.  14  Is  any  sick  among  you  ?  Let  him  call  for  the  elders  of 
the  church  ;  and  let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  :  15  And  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick, 
and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up  ;  and  if  he  have  committed  sins,  they 
shall  be  forgiven  him.' — ^James  v.  13-15. 

THE  thirteenth  verse  appears  to  me  to  be  closely  attached 
to  the  twelfth ;  the  apostle  proceeding  here  to  set  forth 
with  much  terseness  and  liveliness  the  kind  of  language  which 
becomes  saints,  in  contrast  with  the  swearing  which  he  has 
forbidden.  '  For  every  tone  of  feeling,'  he  says,  '  that  can  ever 
rightly  occupy  the  heart,  in  any  condition  in  which  Providence 
may  place  us,  true  religion  has  fitting  modes  of  expression, 
honouring  to  God  and  helpful  to  ourselves  and  our  brethren.' 
Circumstances  of  trouble,  and  the  sorrowful  heart  of  the  sufferer, 
naturally  come  first  before  his  mind,  seeing  that  impatience 
under  trouble,  and  its  unhallowed  utterances,  have  been  the 
subject  of  his  rebuke.  ''Is  any  among  you  afflicted  1  Let  him 
pray.^  The  lively  question,  '  Is  any  among  you  afflicted  ?'  and 
afterwards,  *  Is  any  merry?'  '  Is  any  sick  among  you  ?' — instead 
of  the  simple,  quiet,  '  If  any  among  you  be  afflicted,  merry, 
sick,' — accords  with  that  direct,  stirring  style  of  address  which 
characterizes  the  whole  Epistle.  Similarly,  you  remember,  we 
had  in  the  third  chapter  (ver.  13),  'Who  is  a  wise  man  and 
endued  with  knowledge  amongst  you  ?  let  him  show  out  of  a 
good  conversation  his  works  with  meekness  of  wisdom.'  '  Is 
any  among  you  afflicted,^  then — distressed,  from  whatever  cause  ? 
How  should  the  Christian  life  in  him  show  itself?  ^y  prayer, 
certainly.     The  unbeliever,  looking  only  at  secondary  causes 


VER.  13-]  Prayer  and  Pi'aise.  397 

and  the  'course  of  nature,'  as  if  affliction  did '  come  forth  from 
the  earth,  and  trouble  spring  out  of  the  ground,'  aims  at  a  kind 
of  torpid,  pagan  indifference;  or  if  he  thinks  of  .God  as  the 
Author  of  his  troubles,  he  '  kicks  against  the  pricks,'  '  like  a 
bullock  unaccustomed  to  the  yoke,'  or  '  as  a  wild  bull  in  a  net ' 
he  frets  and  rages,  struggles  and  pulls,  thereby  only  entangling 
himself  the  more,  and  making  his  position  worse  by  discontent ' 
and  passion.  But  the  Christian,  recognising  his  affliction  as 
Fatherly  chastisement,  inflicted  by  the  God  who  is  love,  and 
who,  because  He  is  love,  chastens  His  children,  that  they  may 
be  made  more  child-like,  will  always  feel,  if  his  faith  be  intelli- 
gent and  vigorous,  that  nothing  is  so  becoming  and  needful 
under  trial  as  earnest  wrestling  with  his  heavenly  Father  in 
prayer.  He  will  ask  for  comfort  through  a  sense  of  the  divine 
presence  and  goodness  :  '  Hide  not  Thy  face  from  Thy  ser- 
vant, for  I  am  in  trouble ;  from  the  end  of  the  earth  will  I  cry 
unto  Thee  when  my  heart  is  overwhelmed;  lead  me  to  the  Rock 
that  is  higher  than  I.'  He  will  ask  for  wisdom  to  grow  in  grace 
through  the  discipline  :  '  Teach  me  to  do  Thy  will,  for  Thou 
art  my  God ;  Thy  spirit  is  good,  lead  me  into  the  land  of 
uprightness.'  And  he  will  pray  for  deliverance  from  the  cause 
of  his  distress,  as  far  and  as  speedily  as  God  sees  meet :  '  O 
Lord,  I  pray  Thee,  turn  the  counsel  of  Ahithophel  into  foolish- 
ness ;  save  me  from  all  them  that  persecute  me  :  heal  me,  for 
my  bones  are  vexed.'  Such  is  the  exercise  of  soul  that  beseems 
an  afflicted  saint. 

But  religion,  while  very  precious  and  sustaining  in  times  of 
suffering,  is  not  less  really  needful,  and  has  as  perfect  adapta- 
tion, for  seasons  of  prosperity  and  gladness.  For  the  night 
when  weeping  endures  it  has  its  words  of  prayer,  for  the  morn- 
ing when  joy  comes  it  has  its  songs  of  praise.  ''Is  any  merry  ? 
let  him  sing  psalms.''  By  ^  merry''  is  meant  here,  not,  as  often 
in  modern  English,  'full  of  boisterous  gaiety,'  but,  generally, 
'  cheerful,'  '  in  good  spirits.'  Its  meaning  is  well  shown  by  the 
only  other  place  in  the  New  Testament  in  which  the  original 
word  here  used  occurs,  where  Paul,  before  the  shipwreck  at 
Malta,  exhorts  his  companions  to  '  be  of  good  cheer,'  because 


398         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yames.      [ch.  v. 

God  had  told  him  that  their  Hves  would  not  be  lost.  For 
him  who  'is  of  good  cheer,'  then,  the  apostle's  injunction  is 
to  '' sing  praise.^  This  seems  to  be  the  exact  force  of  the 
original  term,  which  our  translators  have  somewhat  unduly 
limited  by  using  the  word  '  psalms.'  I  have  no  doubt  that,  the 
more  a  Christian  knows  of  God,  and  of  himself,  and  of  the 
Book  of  Psalms,  the  more  he  will  delight  in  those  wonderful 
compositions,  and  feel  their  transcendent  poetic  beauty,  and 
wealth  of  religious  experience ;  but  the  apostle's  words  here 
are  quite  general,  leaving  room  for  any  kind  of  sacred  song. 

The  present  is  one  of  many  passages  both  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  the  New  that  set  forth  the  dignity  and  usefulness  of 
the  service  of  praise.  '  Praise  is  comely.'  Hearty  congrega- 
tional singing  (particularly  congregational  singing  in  which, 
conjoined  with  the  fulness  of  tone  that  proves  general  hearti- 
ness, there  are  also  the  grave  sweet  melody  and  pleasant 
blending  of  parts  that  evince  diligent,  conscientious  study 
by  persons  desirous  to  lay  their  best  on  God's  altar), — this  is 
a  favourable  sign  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  people.  In 
the  ages  when  ceremonialism  began  to  stifle  vital  religion,  and 
true  Christian  catholicity  became  corrupted  and  narrowed  into 
the  apostasy  of  Roman  Catholicism,  there  was  no  more  strik- 
ing symptom  of  the  change  from  life  to  death  than  the  de- 
parture of  congregational  praise.  Sacred  song  was  at  once  an 
utterance  and  a  stimulus  of  independent  thought  and  feeling, 
such  as  the  usurping  priesthood  dared  not  leave  to  the  people  : 
so  the  chanting  by  hired  choristers  of  hymns  in  a  dead  lan- 
guage, and  often  in  honour  of  saints  and  angels,  took  the 
place  of  that  hearty  congregational  praise  of  God  which  even 
a  heathen  writer  of  the  first  age  speaks  of  as  one  of  the  pro- 
minent features  of  Christian  service.  But  when  at  the  Refor- 
mation, through  the  mercy  of  God,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness 
at  last  melted  the  frost  of  centuries,  and  the  silver  streams  of 
the  water  of  life,  so  long  sealed  up  and  silent,  began  once  more 
to  gush  joyously  over  the  world,  then  along  their  banks  arose 
again  the  strains  of  Zion.  Wherever  spiritual  life  is  found,  it 
expresses  itself,  as  all  manifest  revivals  of  religion  distinctly 


VER.  I3-]  Pray €7^  and  Praise.  399 

attest,  in  hearty  praise.  The  '  Hving  in  Jerusalem '  say,  '  The 
dead  praise  not  the  Lord,  neither  any  that  go  down  into 
silence ;  but  ive  will  bless  the  Lord  from  this  time  forth  and 
for  evermore.'  The  words  of  the  apostle  in  the  verse  before 
us  suggest  that  not  merely  in  the  sanctuary,  but  at  home,  in 
the  family  circle  or  in  solitude,  the  singing  of  God's  praise  is 
pleasant  and  helpful  for  the  soul.  When  God  in  His  provi- 
dence is  bidding  us  'be  of  good  cheer' — when  the  truth  is 
with  liveliness  borne  in  upon  our  hearts,  that  '  He  crowneth 
us  with  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercies' — the  tones  of 
sacred  song  are  to  the  new  man  in  Christ  the  most  natural 
of  all  utterances.  They  are  felt  to  be  honouring  to  God, 
and  sweet  and  stimulating  to  the  heart.  Individual  and  family 
happiness,  individual  and  family  piety,  would,  beyond  question, 
be  strengthened  and  beautified,  if  there  were  a  more  general 
following  out  of  the  apostle's  rule,  '  Is  any  man  merry  ?  let  him 
sing  praise.' 

I  need  hardly  observe  that,  though  the  apostle  in  this  verse 
recommends  to  believers  those  religious  exercises  which  are 
specially  suitable  in  the  contrasted  conditions  respectively, — 
prayer  in  trouble,  and  praise  in  prosperity, — yet  in  neither 
case  does  he  put  aside  the  other  exercise  as  unsuitable. 
Often,  as  you  know,  praise  passes  into  prayer,  and  prayer 
is  pervaded  by  the  spirit  of  praise  ;  and  indeed  the  spiritual 
man,  in  all  circumstances  in  which  he  may  be  placed,  should 
feel  himself  impelled  both  to  prayer  and  praise.  When  he 
is  '  of  good  cheer,'  then,  whilst  praising  the  bounteous  Giver 
of  his  enjoyments,  he  remembers  at  the  same  time  how  prone 
prosperity  is  to  make  a  man  'turn  again  to  folly;'  and,  'lack- 
ing wisdom,'  he  '  asks  of  God,  who  giveth  to  all  men  liberally, 
and  upbraideth  not.'  And  in  trouble,  while  praying  earnestly, 
he  finds  that  the  '  patience '  which  God  gives  '  worketh  ex- 
perience '  of  the  divine  mercy  and  faithfulness, '  and  experience 
hope,'  and  hope  impels  to  praise.  Ay,  and  through  the  praise 
the  hope  wall  often  grow  stronger  and  brighter ;  for  now,  as  well 
as  in  Saul's  days,  the  'evil  spirit '  of  despondency  and  fear  will 
flee  before  the  tones  of  David's  harp.      At  midnight,  in  the 


400         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  yaines.       [ch.  v. 

inner  prison  at  Philippi,  their  feet -fast  in  the  stocks,  and  their 
backs  raw  with  the  stripes,  '  Paul  and  Silas  prayed,  and  sang 
praises  unto  God.' 

The  truth  is,  that  prayer  and  praise  are  fundamentally  one, 
the  outgoing  of  the  soul  in  love  and  trust  to  God.  They  are 
flowers  growing  on  one  stem.  And  thus  we  come  to  the 
general  principle  which  underlies  James's  teaching  here, — 
that  a  Christian,  throughout  his  whole  life,  whatever  its  turn- 
ings be,  however  varied  its  conditions,  should  in,  and  in  regard 
to,  them  all  acknowledge  God,  with  humility,  and  thankful- 
ness, and  love,  communing  with  Him  in  holy  fellowship. 
Such  is  beyond  all  question  the  ideal  of  the  Christian  life, — 
'■praying  without  ceasing,'  'blessing  the  Lord  at  all  times, 
His  praise  continually  in  our  mouths.'  This  implies  oneness 
of  will  with  God,  the  child-like  acceptance  of  His  will  as  ours  : 
thus,  in  prosperity  thanking  Him  as  the  Giver,  and  devoting 
what  He  gives  to  His  glory ;  in  adversity,  meekly  bearing 
what  He  sends,  and  striving  to  gain  the  spiritual  advantage 
that  He  intends  for  us  in  sending  it.  *  I  have  learned,'  says 
Paul,  'in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  therewith  to  be  content;' 
•  and  certainly,  as  a  good  woman  said,  who  on  a  bed  of  weari- 
ness and  pain,  and  in  the  depths  of  poverty,  was  praising  God, 
it  '  takes  learning '  to  do  this.  She  spoke  of  the  side  she  had 
experience  of — '  knowing  how  to  suffer  need ;'  but  the  other 
side,  to  bear  prosperity  without  vain  confidence,  '  knowing 
how  to  abound,'  perhaps  takes  even  more  learning.  But  '  all 
things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth.' 

The  teaching  of  the  apostle  in  this  verse,  however,  has  a 
bearing  not  merely  on  our  exercise  of  soul  in  the  reception 
of  what  God's  providence  allots  us,  but  on  our  own  choice  of 
occupations  and  sources  of  enjoyment.  A  Christian,  he  tells 
us,  is  so  to  live,  that  in  the  midst  of  everything,  and  in  con- 
nection with  everything,  he  is  engaged  in,  he  can  sincerely  and 
reasonably  praise  God,  and  ask  God's  blessing.  In  all  honest 
labour,  and  in  all  innocent  enjoyment,  this  may  be  done.  Any 
occupation  or  source  of  excitement  and  pleasure  in  regard  to 
which  it  would  be  felt  to  be  unnatural  to  ask  God's  blessing  or 


VER.  14-]  Prayer  and  Praise.  401 

give  God  thanks, — with  which  it  would  be  felt  to  be  a  gross 
incongruity  to  mingle  prayer  and  praise,  and  thus  formally 
sanctify  it, — or  (for  this  practically  is  the  same  thing)  which  has 
a  manifest  tendency  to  dissipate  devotional  feeling, — is  not  an 
occupation  or  enjoyment  for  a  Christian.  This  may  to  some 
appear  *  an  hard  saying  ; '  and  certainly  the  principle  thus  laid 
down  is  one  fitted  to  cause  serious  '  searchings  of  heart '  in  all 
of  us,  and  which,  if  faithfully  carried  out,  would  most  materially 
alter  the  mode  of  life  of  many  professing  Christians.  But  it 
seems  to  me  beyond  question,  that  no  one  will  candidly  ponder 
and  develope  before  his  mind  the  teaching  of  the  apostle 
in  the  verse  under  consideration  (which  is  simply  a  forcible 
and  condensed  statement  of  teaching  to  be  found  every- 
where in  the  Bible  by  the  man  who  chooses  to  see  it),  without 
coming  to  the  conclusion  that  such  is  the  principle  laid  down 
by  God.  A  Christian  is  a  consecrated  person — a  member  of 
'a  peculiar  people,'  who  are  'redeemed'  by  the  blood  of 
Christ  'from  all  iniquity,'  and  to  be  'zealous  of  good  works' 
and  '  shine  as  lights  in  the  world : '  their  whole  life  is  a  conse- 
crated life ;  and  thus  all  the  occupations  and  enjoyments  of 
such  consecrated  men  and  women,  all  the  scenes  in  which 
they  choose  to  mingle,  should  certainly  be  such  as  either 
actually  are,  or  at  least  without  obvious  incongruity  and 
absurdity  might  be,  consecrated,  'sanctified  by  the  word  of 
God  and  prayer'  (i  Tim.  iv.  5). 

In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  verses  the  apostle  reverts  to 
the  subject  of  affliction ;  and  having  in  the  first  clause  of  the 
thirteenth  enjoined  prayer  on  those  who  are  in  trouble,  he  here, 
with  reference  to  a  special  form  of  affliction,  bodily  illness, 
illustrates  the  efficiency  of  prayer ;  bringing  here,  however,  into 
particular  prominence  the  value  of  intercessory  prayer  for  the 
sufferer,  and  giving  directions  on  this  head. 

'  Is  a?iy  sick  among  yoJi  ?  let  hi?n  call  for  the  elders  of  the 
church.'  There  can  be  no  doubt,  judging  from  the  ordinary 
use  of  the  word  in  the  New  Testament,  that  by  ^elders''  are 
meant  here  not  generally  the  older  people  in  the  congregation, 
but  specially  the  office-bearers  so  named;  and  the  apostle's 

2  c 


402         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes,      [ch.  v. 

injunction  is  one  of  many  passages  on  which,  taken  together 
so  as  to  cast  light  on  each  other,  we  Presbyterians  base  our 
system  of  church  polity.  The  words  before  us  certainly  suggest 
that  in  the  primitive  church  each  congregation  had  its  spiritual 
interests  watched  over  by  a  body  of  elders,  somewhat  such  as 
with  us  constitute  a  kirk-session.  The  apostle  intimates,  more- 
over, that  one  duty  of  the  elders — one  which,  unquestionably, 
all  who  had  the  welfare  of  their  brethren  warmly  at  heart  would 
deem  very  important — was  to  visit  the  members  of  the  church 
in  time  of  illness,  to  minister  comfort,  and  counsel,  and  help. 
Such  being  a  duty  of  the  elders,  it  was  correspondingly  the 
,  duty  of  a  member  when  he  was  ill  to  send  for  the  elders.  It 
would  be  well  in  various  ways,  brethren, — it  would  prevent 
many  weary  and  unsatisfied  longings  on  the  part  of  the  sick, 
many  serious  and  hurtful  misconceptions  on  the  part  of  their 
relatives,  many  painful  regrets  on  the  part  of  Christian  office- 
bearers,— if  this  injunction  of  Scripture  were  uniformly  acted 
on.  Ministers  and  elders  cannot  know  of  cases  of  illness 
unless  they  are  told ;  and  the  rule  is  surely  very  simple,  and 
straightforward,  and  reasonable  :  '  Is  any  sick  among  you  ?  let 
him  call  for  the  elders  of  the  church.'  The  apostle's  mode  of 
X  expression  appears  to  imply  that  notice  of  illness  was  to  be 
-  sent  to  the  body  of  elders,  and  that  in  those  early  days  of  the 
church  they  visited  their  sick  (for  we  may  presume  that  James 
here  merely  suggests  for  general  adoption  what  was  already, 
under  apostolic  advice,  a  practice  in  many  congregations) 
either  as  a  body,  or  at  least  by  a  deputation  of  more  than  one 
member :  '  Let  him  call  for  the  elders,  and  let  the7n  pray  over 
him.'  It  seems  naturally  suggested  by  the  clause,  at  all  events, 
that  this  was  a  part  of  Christian  work  in  which  all  the  elders 
were  expected  to  share,  not  merely  those  of  them  who  '  laboured 
in  the  word  and  doctrine ' — the  ministers,  as  we  now  call  them  ; 
and  certainly  there  are  few  modes,  if  any,  in  which  elders  can 
more  efficiently  aid  the  minister,  or  benefit  the  congregation, 
than  by  assiduous  and  affectionate  visiting  of  the  sick. 

Summoned  to  the  bedside  of  a  sufferer,  then,  the  elders  are 
to  ^J?ray  over  hitn^  to  wrestle  with  God  for  their  afflicted 


VER.  I4-]       '       Prayer  and  Praise.  403 

brother.  And  with  this  is,  in  the  apostle's  injunction,  asso- 
ciated another  duty,  that  of  '  anointmg  him  with  oil  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord^  Oil  has  always  been  extensively  used  and  highly 
valued  in  the  medical  practice  of  the  East ;  and  many  com- 
mentators have  thought  that  the  reference  here  is  simply  to 
•  such  a  medical  application,  accompanied  with  prayer  for  the 
^  divine  blessing  on  these  ordinary  means  of  cure.  Besides  other 
objections  which  might  be  urged  against  this  view,  this  fact 
alone  seems  to  me  sufficient  to  set  it  aside, — that  the  apostle, 
from  the  unhmited  form  of  his  question,  'Is  any  sick  among 
you?'  must  be  supposed  to  speak  of  any  case  of  illness.  Now 
we  cannot  imagine  that  oil  would  be  deemed  a  fitting  medical 
application  in  every  kind  of  disease.  The  anointing  of  which 
I  James  speaks  had,  no  doubt,  a  symbolical,  sacred  character. 
The  anointing  with  which  the  Jewish  Christians  to  whom  he 
wrote  were  familiar,  in  many  parts  of  the  ceremonial  of  the 
t  Old  Economy,  was  well  understood  to  be  emblematic  of  divine 
A  influence.  Him  in  whose  name  they  trusted  they  called  by 
pre-eminence  the  Messiah  or  Christ,  'the  Anointed  One,'  as 
having  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  '  poured '  on  Him  without 
measure ;  and  thus  in  the  anointing  of  the  sick  they  would  re- 
cognise a  symbol  of  the  gracious  Spirit  through  whom  answers 
to  prayer  come.  *  If  the  Spirit  of  Him  that  raised  up  Jesus 
from  the  dead  dwell  in  you,  He  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the 
dead  shall  also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies  by  His  Spirit  that 
dwelleth  in  you '  (Rom.  viii.  11^);  and  of  this  great  final  quick- 
ening by  the  Spirit,  the  supernatural  cures  in  answer  to  prayer 
were  prelusive.  A  statement  made  by  the  Evangelist  Mark 
illustrates  that  before  us,  when,  in  speaking  of  the  mission  on 
which  the  Lord  during  His  ministry  sent  the  apostles,  he  says 
that  '  they  cast  out  many  devils,  and  anointed  with  oil  many 
<■  that  were  sick,  and  healed  them'  (Mark  vi.  13).  The  refer- 
ence there  is  most  manifestly  to  miraculous  cures,  and  the  use 
of  oil  was  plainly  not  medicinal,  any  more  than  the  applica- 
tions of  spittle,  or  clay  moistened  with  spittle,  mentioned  in 
^  This  verse  is  pertinent  to  my  argument,  whether  the  true  reading  be 
the  genitive  or  the  accusative  after  ttu,. 


404         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes.      [ch.  v. 

the  accounts  of  our  Lord's  miraculous  works :  it  was  emble- 
matic.    The  case  before  us  appears  precisely  similar.     The 

\  sacred  character  of  the  anointing  spoken  of  by  James  is  shown 
very  clearly — and  at  the  same  time  the  ground  of  the  hope  of 

I  help — by  the  addition,  '  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.''  Our  apostle 
often,  indeed  generally,  uses  the  name  '•Lord''  as  representing 
the  'Jehovah'  of  the  Old  Testament  (for  example,  in  verses  10 
and  11),  and  it  might  be  so  taken  here  ;  but  the  analogy  of  the 
mode  of  expression  recorded  as  having  been  employed  by 
apostles  in  working  miracles  leads  us  rather  to  take  it  in  the 
common  New  Testament  sense,  'The  Lord  Jesus.'  Thus 
Peter,  you  remember,  said  to  the  lame  man  at  the  Beautiful 
Gate  of  the  temple,  '  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth, 
rise  up  and  walk'  (Acts  iii.  6). 

The  fifteenth  verse  describes  the  results  that  will  follow  from 
the  procedure  enjoined  in  the  fourteenth  :  '  And  the  prayer  of 
faith  shall  save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up.^  The 
latter  clause  being  manifestly  parallel  to  and  explanatory  of 
the  former,  it  is  clear  that  '  save '  here  designates  bodily 
healing.  This  is  a  common  use  of  the  word  in  the  New 
Testament.  Thus,  when  Jairus,  petitioning  the  Saviour  on 
behalf  of  his  little  sick  daughter,  says,  '  I  pray  Thee,  come 
•  and  lay  Thy  hands  on  her,  that  she  may  be  healed'  (Mark 
I  v.  23),  the  term  there  rendered  '  healed '  is  the  same  as 
that  employed  here.  One  cannot  sufficiently  admire  the 
fulness,  and  bless  God  for  it,  with  which  in  this  passage 
(a  passage  where  otherwise  priestly  assumption  and  cere- 
monialism might  have  found  plausible  entrenchment)  the 
true  source  of  help  is  exhibited,  and  any  shadow  of  support 
for  trust  in  mere  ritual  prevented.     It  is  on  the  'prayer,^  you 

»  --observe,  that  emphasis  is  laid  as  a  means  of  bringing  down 
blessing,  the  anointing  passing  quite  into  the  background.  It 
is  the  '  prayer  of  faith,'  moreover,  a  prayer  that  springs  from 
belief  in  God's  promises,  hearty  confidence  in  His  power  and 
love — not  a  mere  form  of  words,  possessed  of  some  magical 
virtue,  however  carelessly  they  be  pattered  over.  And  when 
the  prayer  of  faith  has  been  off"ered,  the  work  of  help  is  done 


VER.  15-]  Prayer  and  Praise.  405 

wholly  by  Him  '  that  heareth  prayer,'  and  to  Him  alone  is 
glory  due  :  '  The  Lord  shall  raise  him  up.' 

A  difficulty  occurs  to  every  mind,  connected  with  the  uni- 
versal unconditional  terms  of  the  promise  given  here  that  the 
result  of  the  prayer  of  faith,  under  the  circumstances  described, 
will  be  bodily  healing.  It  is  plain  that  the  words  had  primary 
and  peculiar  relation  to  an  age  of  miraculous  powers  ;  but  we 
have  no  reason  to  believe  that  even  the  apostles  healed  or 
could  heal  all  the  sick  in  whom  they  were  interested.  We 
know,  indeed,  that  it  was  not  so.  '  Trophimus,'  Paul  tells 
Timothy,  he  '  left  at  Miletum  sick '  (2  Tim.  iv.  20).  The 
same  difficulty  presents  itself  in  the  promise  of  Christ  regard- 
ing the  '  signs '  that  were  to  '  follow  them  that  believe  ' — '  They 
shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  recover '  (Mark 
xvi.  18) ;  and  in  the  yet  wider  promise,  'What  things  soever 
ye  desire  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  receive  them,  and  ye 
shall  have  them'  (Mark  xi.  24).  The  explanation  of  the 
difficulty  is  no  doubt  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  in  all  such 
promises  the  condition  is  implied,  '  in  so  far  as  accords  with 

#-  God's  will'  The  Christian  heart  feels  this,  and  therefore  the 
condition  need  not  always  be  expressed.  Putting  the  same 
thing  in  a  slightly  different  form,  indeed,  we  may  truly  say  that 
the  '  prayer  of  faith '  is  always  answered,  either  by  the  bestowal 
of  the  specific  object  asked  for,  or  by  the  gift  of  something 
better.  We  have  every  reason  to  believe,  therefore,  that  in 
the  first  age  many  sick  persons  were,  in  answer  to  prayer, 

\,  restored  to  health,  often  in  the  way  of  obvious  miracle.  We 
have  equal  reason  to  believe  that  the  same  occurs  now,  as 
really  by  the  gracious  action  of  the  Divine  Hearer  of  prayer, 

•  though  without  that  startling  suddenness  and  absence  of  ordi- 

.  nary  means  which  constituted  a  healing  miraculous.  All  who 
have  been  '  taught  of  God'  will  have  no  doubt,  moreover,  that 
in  every  age  of  the  church,  whenever  true  prayer  has  been 
offered  by  the  sick,  either  alone  or  in  conjunction  with  '  the 
elders  of  the  church '  or  other  brethren, '  healing,'  '  quickening,' 
has  certainly  been  granted  in  answer,  though  it  might  not  be 
for  the  body. 


4o6         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  v. 

The  apostle  continues  :  *  And  if  he  have  committed  si?is,  they 
shall  be  forgiveft  him.''  No  truth  is  more  plainly  taught  in 
Scripture,  than  that  our  race,  universally,  is  by  nature  de- 
praved :  '  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves, 
and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.'  The  reference  here,  then,  where 
the  '  committing  of  sins  '  is  put  as  a  mere  supposition,  must 
be  not  to  sin  generally,  but  to  special  sins,  through  which  the 
disease  has  been  brought  on.  Bible  doctrine  in  regard  to 
affliction  is,  that  whilst,  had  there  been  no  sin  in  the  world, 
there  would  have  been  no  suffering — for  suffering  is  an  element 
in  the  curse ;  yet  God  does  not,  in  this  world,  so  apportion 
suffering  as  that  the  greatest  sufferer  can  be  pronounced  the 
greatest  sinner.  This  latter  truth,  opposed  to  a  very  natural 
idea,  which  was  particularly  prevalent  among  the  Jews,  is 
taught  with  much  fulness  and  clearness  in  the  book  of  Job, 
and  by  our  Lord  in  connection  with  the  case  of  the  Galileans, 
'  whose  blood  Pilate  mingled  with  their  sacrifices,'  and  again 
with  that  of  the  man  born  blind.  But  it  is  also  true,  plainly 
taught  in  Scripture,  and  manifest  every  day  in  the  world,  that 
in  many  instances  particular  forms  of  sin  draw  after  them  par- 
ticular forms  of  suffering.  The  drunkard  and  the  licentious 
man  or  woman,  for  example,  often  suffer  in  the  body  for  their 
iniquities.  To  something  of  this  kind,  in  all  likelihood,  our 
Lord  alludes  in  His  words  to  the  man  who  had  been  healed  at 
Bethesda  :  '  Behold,  thou  art  made  whole  ;  sin  no  more,  lest  a 
worse  thing  come  unto  thee.'  Now,  in  all  persons  suffering 
consciously  for  special  sins, — when  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  deals 
savingly  with  them,  longing  for  a  sense  of  the  pardon  of  those 
sins  will  mingle  with  and  overtop  the  longing  for  mere  bodily 
healing.  It  was  so,  we  may  suppose,  with  the  paralytic  who  was 
let  down  through  the  roof  before  Jesus,  and  to  whom,  reading 
his  longings,  the  gracious  Saviour  said,  *  Son,  thy  sins  are  for- 
given thee,'  before  He  said,  '  Arise,  and  take  up  thy  bed,  and 
go  thy  way  into  thine  house.'  It  is  the  unvaried  teaching  of 
the  Bible  on  this  subject,  that  sins  are  forgiven  only  when 
they  are  repented  of :  '  Repent  and  be  converted,  that  your 
sins  may  be  blotted  out'  (Acts  iii.  19).     In  the  statement  of 


VER.  15-]  Prayer  and  Praise.  407 

James  under  consideration,  then,  it  is  implied  that  in  the 
sufferer  of  whom  he  speaks  he  presupposes  genuine  penitence 
of  spirit,  '  a  broken  and  contrite  heart.'  True  Christian  long- 
ings, and  no  empty  superstition,  are  supposed  to  have  led 
him  to  '  call  for  the  elders  of  the  church,'  and  the  '  prayer  of 
faith '  has,  all  through,  been  going  up  from  his  own  soul. 
In  answer  comes  a  sense  of  pardon — pardon  of  which,  in  the 
first  age,  miraculous  healing  granted  by  God  would  often  be 
evidence. 

One  of  the  five  sacraments  which  Roman  Catholicism  has 
added  to  the  two  ordained  in  the  New  Testament  is  '  extreme 
unction' — the  application  by  a  priest  to  the  body  of  a  person 
believed  to  be  near  death,  of  oil  that  has  received  the  blessing 
of  a  bishop.  The  sick  person  is  anointed  in  the  form  of  the 
cross,  on  the  eyes,  ears,  mouth,  and  some  other  organs, — a 
formula  of  prayer  being  recited  each  time  for  pardon  of  the 
sins  that  had  been  committed  through  the  instrumentality  of 
the  sight,  hearing,  and  the  rest.     This  rite  is  held  to  be  an 

♦  efficient  means  of  grace  to  the  departing  soul,  remitting  sins 
not  previously  remitted.  The  only  passage  appealed  to  as 
scriptural  authority  for  this  sacrament  is  the  statement  contained 
in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  verses  now  before  us ;  the 
Council  of  Trent  declaring  that,  whilst  'promulgated'  here,  it 
had  been  '  instituted '  by  Christ.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of 
anything  more  impudent  than  the  attempt  to  maintain  this 
support  of  priestly  power  by  the  authority  of  this  passage, — 

.  the  basing  of  a  rite  which  is  appointed  to  be  administered 
only  to  those  who  are  believed  to  be  dying,  and  with  a  refer- 

,  ence  to  their  death,  on  a  practice  which  was  intended,  as  the 
words  of  the  apostle  plainly  show,  to  obtain  the  restoration  of 

'  the  sufferer  to  health.  With  arguments  like  this  in  support  of 
its  peculiar  tenets,  it  is  certainly  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
Popery  discourages  biblical  study  among  its  votaries. 

The  injunction — or  perhaps  rather,  accurately  stated,  the 
recommendation — of  the  apostle  regarding  anointing,  had  an 
obvious  suitableness  for  the  Christian  communities  gathered 
from  among  the  Jews,  to  whom  the  symbolic  meaning  of  the 


4o8         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  y antes,      [ch.  v. 

practice  was  so  familiar  and  expressive.  No  hint  of  any  such 
precept  or  advice  is  given  in  any  of  the  apostoUc  letters  to 
churches  of  Gentile  Christians ;  and,  all  things  considered,  we 
have  not  the  slightest  reason  to  suppose  that  James's  recom- 
mendation on  this  head  was  meant  to  be  of  universal  or 
permanent  force  in  the  church.^ 

^  By  some  the  precept  or  recommendation  is  held  to  be  of  permanent 
force ;  and  occasionally  the  newspapers  show  us  fruits  of  the  belief.  The 
following  is  an  extract  from  The  Times  of  July  7,  1870  : — 

"The  Peculiar  People." — On  Tuesday  night  an  adjourned  inquiiy  was 
held  at  the  Sir  Robert  Peel  Tavern,  Plumstead,  before  Mr.  C.  J.  Carttar, 
coroner  for  West  Kent,  relative  to  the  death  of  George  Walker,  a  labourer, 
aged  forty-eight,  who  expired  on  Saturday  the  25th  ult.  The  deceased 
belonged  to  the  sect  known  as  "The  Peculiar  People,"  who  hold  the  doc- 
trine that  faith  in  God  alone  will  heal  the  sick.  Thomas  Hines,  labourer, 
of  2  Hall  Place,  Plumstead,  said  he  was  one  of  the  elders  of  the  sect,  and 
he  knew  the  deceased,  who  was  a  member  of  it.  On  the  Sunday  previous 
to  his  death  he  visited  the  deceased,  who  complained  of  a  pain  in  his  left 
side.  Witness  prayed  with  the  deceased,  and  anointed  his  left  side  with  oil 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  immediately  delivered  him,  and 
the  pain  ceased.  On  the  following  Monday  he  again  visited  the  deceased, 
prayed  with  him,  and  anointed  his  head.  On  the  Friday  night  before  his 
death,  a  prayer-meeting,  attended  by  the  elders,  was  held  at  the  house 
where  the  deceased  lodged,  at  141  Sandy-hill  Road.  One  of  the  sisters 
asked  deceased  if  he  would  have  a  doctor,  and  he  replied,  "No  ;"  he  had 
every  faith  in  the  Lord.  The  oil  used  was  olive  oil.  The  elders  received 
no  pay;  it  was  quite  sufficient  honour  to  be  a  servant  of  the  Lord.  The 
number  of  the  Peculiar  People  at  Woolwich  was  about  eighty.  George 
Hurry,  another  elder,  residing  at  Richmond  Road,  Plumstead,  gave  similar 
evidence  as  to  the  laying  on  of  hands  and  anointing.  Mr.  J.  B.  Riley,  a 
surgeon,  who  made  \S\G.post  mortem  examination,  proved  that  death  resulted 
from  a  long-standing  disease  of  the  lungs.  Medical  aid  at  an  earlier  period 
would  have  been  of  service.  The  jury  returned  a  verdict  that  "Death 
resulted  from  consumption,  coupled  with  an  expression  of  regret  that 
medical  assistance  was  not  called  to  the  deceased  by  those  attending  upon 
him ;  and  the  jury  considered  that  very  serious  blame  attached  to  them  for 
their  want  of  common  humanity. " 


VER.  i6.]  Confession  and  Prayer.  409 


XXX. 
CONFESSION    AND    PRAYER. 

'  Confess  your  faults  one  to  another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  ye  may 
be  healed.  The  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 
much.  17  Elias  was  a  man  subject  to  like  passions  as  we  are,  and  he 
prayed  earnestly  that  it  might  not  rain  ;  and  it  rained  not  on  the  earth 
by  the  space  of  three  years  and  six  months  :  i8  And  he  prayed 
again,  and  the  heaven  gave  rain,  and  the  earth  brought  forth  her 
fruit.'— James  v.  16-18. 

THE  advice  given  in  the  previous  verses  naturally  leads 
to  the  recommendation  before  us, — one  calculated  in 
a  very  high  degree  to  promote  the  prosperity  and  happiness 
of  the  church.  The  connecting  thought  is  this  :  '  I  have 
said  that  Christians  when  they  are  sick  should  summon  to 
their  bedsides  the  elders  of  the  church,  and  that  their  united 
believing  prayer  will  bring  down  God's  blessing  in  restored 
health  and  spiritual  comfort.  Not  merely  the  official  repre- 
sentatives of  the  church,  however,  but  all  the  children  of  God, 
can  help  their  brethren  mightily.  Wherefore,  Confess  your 
faults  one  to  another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  ye  may  be 
healed'  Our  view  of  the  breadth  of  the  reference  of  the 
apostle's  precept  must  depend,  at  least  to  a  certain  extent,  on 
the  meaning  we  attach  to  the  clause,  '  that  ye  may  be  healed;'  and 
at  this,  therefore,  we  must  look  for  a  moment  first.  Our  first 
thought  naturally  is,  that  the  discourse  is  still  of  the  sick, — 
and  we  cannot  doubt  that  these  are  included  ;  yet,  considering 
that  we  have  clearly  passed  into  a  new  section,  and  that  the 
brethren  are  addressed  in  the  most  general  way,  and  called  on 
to  confess  to  each  other,  and  pray  for  each  other,  without  any 
specification  of  the  sick,  it  seems  to  me  that  we  must  hold  the 
application  of  '•healed'  to  be  wider  than  merely  deliverance 


41  o         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James.      [ch.  v. 

from  bodily  disease.  The  connection  between  sin  and  bodily 
disease  has  been  already  alluded  to  in  the  close  of  the  previous 
paragraph ;  the  conception  of  sin  as  a  spiritual  disease,  and  of 
Him  who  proclaimed  Himself  to  Israel  at  Marah  under  the 
name,  '  The  Lord  that  healeth  thee,'  as  the  Physician  of  souls, 
was  familiar  to  James's  readers  from  Old  Testament  imagery ; 
and  the  particular  word  here  employed  in  the  original  is  often 
used  of  spiritual  healing.  The  apostle  speaks  here,  then,  I 
apprehend,  of  deliverance  both  spiritual  and  bodily — the  cure 
of  the  malady  of  sin,  and  of  bodily  disease  where  this  fruit 
and  image  of  sin  was  present.  Thus  understood,  the  present 
section  leads  most  naturally  to  the  last  statement  in  the 
Epistle,  regarding  the  blessedness  of  him  who  '  converteth  a 
sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways.' 

'  Confess  your  faults  one  to  aftother.^  Confession  of  sin  to 
God  is  of  the  essence  of  true  repentance  ;  for  a  man  who  will 
not  look  up  and  acknowledge  his  iniquity  manifestly  does  not 
clearly  see  or  deeply  feel  its  evil.  Only  through  unreserved- 
ness  of  heart  towards  God  can  we  enjoy  peace  with  Him.  '  If 
we  confess  our  sins.  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our 
sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness.'  '  When  I 
kept  silence,'  says  David,  *  my  bones  waxed  old  through  my 
roaring  all  the  day  long  :  for  day  and  night  Thy  hand  was  heavy 
upon  me  ;  my  moisture  is  turned  into  the  drought  of  summer. 
I  acknowledged  my  sin  unto  Thee,  and  mine  iniquity  have  I 
not  hid  :  I  said,  I  will  confess  my  transgressions  unto  the  Lord  ; 
and  Thou  forgavest  the  iniquity  of  my  sin.'  The  injunction 
before  us,  however,  relates  to  confession  to  man.  Now  there  is 
nothing  in  the  general  teaching  of  Scripture,  or  in  the  present 
precept  when  interpreted  reasonably,  to  assign  to  this  duty  any- 
thing like  the  same  extent  of  reference  as  belongs  to  confession 
to  God.  To  Him  we  are  called  upon  to  lay  bare  our  souls 
absolutely — to  make  penitential  acknowledgment  of  all  the  sins 
of  which  we  are  conscious,  and  then,  sensible  that  none  can 
fully  '  understand  his  errors,'  to  pray,  '  Cleanse  Thou  me  from 
secret  faults.'  But  there  are  many  sins  which  it  is  not  merely 
not  needful,  but  would  be  positively  wrong,  to  reveal  to  our 


VER.  i6.]  Confession  arid  Prayer.  411 

fellow-men.  To  take  but  one  instance  :  sins  of  thought  may 
but  for  a  very  short  time,  and  in  a  very  vague  form,  have  been 
permitted  to  occupy  the  mind  ;  and  the  effort  to  bring  them  out 
before  our  own  minds  with  the  clearness  and  definiteness  need- 
ful for  our  stating  them  to  another,  would,  in  multitudes  of  cases, 
do  us  moral  harm,  without  advantage  of  any  kind.  Again,  it 
might  often  happen  that  much  moral  injury  might  be  done  to 
the  person  who  received  our  confession,  by  the  acknowledg- 
ments we  made,  and  this  however  carefully  we  might  choose 
our  confidant.  Indeed,  circumstances  of  various  kinds,  and 
connected  with  offences  of  all  sorts,  may  often  render  it  in  the 
very  highest  degree  undesirable,  or  actually  sinful,  to  make 
them  known  to  our  fellow-men. 

In  considering,  then,  what  classes  of  ^faults '  James  has  here 
before  his  mind,  injuries  to  me?i  first  occur  to  us.  To  make  a 
frank  acknowledgment  of  having  done  wrong,  when  'a  brother 
hath  aught  against  us,'  is  one  of  the  plainest  duties  of  the 
Christian  code  of  morals.  Our  Lord  tells  us  that  a  soul  un- 
willing to  do  this  is  in  a  condition  in  which  worship  cannot 
be  acceptable  to  God  ;  and  therefore,  even  if  the  gift  be  already 
before  the  altar,  the  man  is  to  '  go  his  way,  first  be  reconciled 
to  his  brother,  and  then  come  and  offer  his  gift.'  Cases  may 
easily  be  conceived,  too,  in  which,  though  an  injured  person  is 
unconscious  of  the  injury,  and  ample  material  reparation  may 
be  possible  without  the  accompaniment  of  confession,  yet  this 
also  is  at  the  least  very  desirable.  For  example,  suppose  that 
of  two  Christian  merchants  who  have  business  transactions 
with  each  other,  the  one  gains  an  advantage  over  the  other 
in  a  way  which  that  other  does  not  know,  and  can  never  know, 
— a  way  perhaps  strictly  legal,  but  which  afterthought  con- 
vinces him  who  pursued  it  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  highest 
morality.  He  might  easily  in  most  cases,  without  saying  any- 
thing on  the  subject,  make  up  to  his  friend  in  some  subsequent 
transaction  all  the  loss.  And  sometimes  anything  more  may 
not  be  needed.  Yet  I  can  well  believe  that  a  confession  would 
often  bring  more  completeness  of  comfort  to  the  offender,  and 
not  a  little  spiritual  benefit  to  both  parties.     If  the  injury  that 


412         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

has  been  done  to  a  brother  has  been  of  a  kind  to  affect  his 
reputation, — for  instance,  if  it  has  consisted  in  the  circulation, 
whether  through  carelessness  or  from  some  definitely  bad 
motive,  of  a  calumnious  report, — it  is  evident  that  confession 
should  in  such  a  case  not  merely  be  made  to  the  wronged 
person  himself,  but  published  as  widely,  if  possible,  as  the 
calumny.  This  may  be  very  humbling  to  the  offender,  but 
the  discipline  is  salutary,  and  without  such  wide  confession 
honourable  reparation  for  the  wrong  is  not  made. 

But  it  seems  reasonable  to  take  the  apostle's  recommenda- 
tion before  us  as  having  a  wider  reference  than  simply  to 
cases  of  the  kind  I  have  mentioned.  There  are  few  greater 
burdens  than  the  burden  of  a  guilty  secret,  and  the  heart  that 
has  such  feels  as  if  the  spiritual  weight  would  be  lightened 
through  confession, — the  hearer  helping  to  bear  it,  after  a 
sort.  This  longing  for  confession  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  a 
tradition  which  Hood  has  wrought  into  a  poem  of  singular 
power, — that  Eugene  Aram,  a  murderer  of  the  last  century 
in  England,  a  man  of  high  cultivation,  and  a  teacher  by  pro- 
fession, sometimes  told  his  scholars  the  story  of  his  crime, 
with  all  circumstantial  details,  but  under  the  guise  of  a  dream. 
Apart,  however,  from  extreme  cases  like  this,  there  are,  no  doubt 
— it  may  be  in  the  very  quietest  walks  of  Christian  life — many 
people  of  a  tender,  sensitive  temperament,  who,  yearning  for 
sympathy  and  guidance,  long  to  speak  to  a  Christian  friend  of 
some  of  their  weaknesses  and  sins.  It  is  true  that  the  only 
perfect  and  satisfying  sympathy,  and  the  only  wholly  trust- 
worthy guidance,  are  those  of  the  Divine  Man  who  '  was  made 
in  all  things  like  unto  His  brethren,  that  He  might  be  merci- 
ful ' — '  tempted  like  as  we  are,'  that  He  might  be  *  touched  with 
the  feeling  of  our  infirmities  ;'  yet  at  times,  particularly  times  of 
bodily  prostration,  in  hearts  of  the  class  that  I  have  mentioned 
there  comes  a  weary  craving  for  a  visible  confidant  and  adviser. 
For  such  a  feeling,  being  not  in  itself  sinful,  provision  has 
been  made  by  Christianity,  through  the  brotherly  relation  of 
believers  to  each  other.  '  Confess  your  faults  one  to  another, 
and '  (here  comes  the  corresponding  injunction  to  the  Chris- 


VER.  i6.]  Confession  and  Prayer.  413 

tian  friends  of  penitents)  'pray  one  for  another;'  or,  as  Paul 
.  has  it,  '  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law 
of  Christ.'  Where  such  unburdening  of  the  conscience  is 
resorted  to,  not  in  the  spirit  of  religious  gossip,  but  seriously 
and  devoutly,  as  a  help  graciously  granted  by  the  Saviour  to 
our  weakness,  not  a  little  comfort  and  real  spiritual  benefit 
may  often  be  obtained  through  it.  From  the  nature  of  the 
case,  however,  this  can  only  be  when  confession  to  brethren 
is  held  as  a  somewhat  exceptional  procedure,  to  be  adopted 
occasionally  under  special  pressure  of  feeling.  Whenever  it 
becomes  in  any  way  methodized  into  a  system,  for  periodical 
observance,  then  the  desire  for  it,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  cer- 
tainly a  symptom  of  spiritual  disease, — a  disease  which  the 
supposed  remedy  will  only  aggravate.  It  is  manifestly  of  the 
highest  importance,  too,  if  the  present  recommendation  of 
our  apostle  is  to  be  carried  out  with  any  real  benefit  to  the 
penitent,  that  the  burdened  heart  should  select  its  confidant 
with  very  great  care.  A  friend  truly  pious  and  affectionate, 
experienced  and  discreet,  may  be  of  much  service ;  no  other 
can  reasonably  be  expected  to  be. 

This  injunction  of  the  Apostle  James  is  the  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture principally  pleaded  in  support  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
system  of  private  confession  of  sin  to  a  priest, — which  that 
Church  enjoins  to  be  performed  periodically,  and  teaches  to 
be  necessary  for  salvation,  and  to  secure  salvation  certainly 
through  the  absolution  given  by  the  priest  after  full  confession. 
This  abominable  system  is,  beyond  doubt,  and  has  been  all 
down  the  generations  since  it  was  introduced,  more  prolific  of 
impurity  and  hardness  of  heart,  and  indeed  moral  evil  of  every 
kind,  than  anything  else  in  the  ecclesiastical  arrangements  of 
any  religious  sect, — probably,  one  might  almost  say,  than  any 
agency  of  any  kind  existing  in  the  world.  The  Reformers,  who 
knew  well  the  nature  and  effects  of  auricular  confession,  used 
to  call  the  confessional  'the  slaughter-house  of  consciences.' ^ 
But  it  is  the  strongest  of  all  the  props  of  priestly  domination  over 

^  See  a  note  by  Dr  Cunningham  in  his  edition  of  Stillingfleet's  Doctrines 
and  Practices  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  p.  142. 


4i4 .        Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

souls,  and  therefore  among  the  very  last  things  that  Romanism 
would  be  willing  to  renounce.  I  need  hardly  point  out  to  you 
that  this  vile  system  has  no  shadow  of  support  in  the  passage 
before  us.  Here  again,  as  in  examining  the  preceding  para- 
graph, one  cannot  sufficiently  admire  and  praise  the  divine 
wisdom  and  love  which  have  so  fenced  in  the  inspired  words 
from  the  possibility  of  being  even  plausibly  misinterpreted  by 
any  one  who  looks  at  them  with  ordinary  intelligence  and  can- 
dour. You  observe  that,  by  a  clearly  marked  transition,  the 
apostle  has  passed  from  his  reference  to  the  office-bearers  of 
the  church,  to  the  brethren  generally, — including  the  office- 
bearers, no  doubt,  on  occasion,  as  hearers  of  such  confession 
as  he  has  alluded  to,  but  certainly  not  speaking  of  them  alone. 
Again,  the  confession  enjoined  is  mutual ;  so  that,  even  if  it 
were  incumbent  on  me  to  confess  to  a  priest,  it  would  be 
equally  incumbent  on  him  to  confess  to  me.  And  of  any  view 
to  the  obtaining  of  authoritative  absolution,  in  the  confession 
here  spoken  of,  there  is  not  the  remotest  hint.  Thus  priestly 
assumption  has  no  standing-ground  on  this  text. 

The  apostle  proceeds :  '  and  pray  one  for  another^  This 
recommendation,  in  its  position  here,  points  out  especially,  as 
I  have  already  said,  the  duty  of  such  believers  as  have  con- 
fession of  faults  made  to  them  by  brethren.  They  can  counsel 
them,  and  comfort  them ;  but  the  chief  help  they  can  render 
is  to  pray  for  them.  The  breadth  in  the  mode  of  expression, 
however,  naturally  leads  us  to  find  in  James's  words,  besides 
the  immediate  reference,  also  a  general  precept  to  cultivate 
prayer  for  our  fellow-Christians.  Intercessory  prayer  is  one 
of  the  sweetest  and  most  profitable  of  all  our  religious  duties 
and  privileges.  Springing  from  love,  it  exercises,  widens, 
and  strengthens  love.  It  brings  down  blessing  on  others, 
and  it  quickens  the  spirituality  of  the  intercessor.  '  I  ex- 
hort,' says  Paul  to  Timothy,  *  that,  first  of  all,  supplications, 
prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all 
men.''  The  believer  recognises  the  brotherhood  of  universal 
humanity,  and  by  prayer  '  for  all  men '  exerts  a  positive  bene- 
ficent  influence  on  behalf  of  all ;  whilst  any  other  mode  of 


VER.  i6.J  Confession  and  Prayer.  415 

exhibiting  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  has  its  range  necessarily 
confined  to  a  very  narrow  circle.  But  whilst  honouring  and 
praying  for  all  men,  he  feels  himself  bound  by  a  peculiarly 
close  and  tender  tie  to  his  brethren  in  Christ.  For  them  his 
love  is  not  of  benevolence  merely,  but  of  complacency,  sym- 
pathy, delight.  Accordingly  he  is  urged  by  the  impulses  of 
the  new  life  to  '  watch  unto  prayer  with  all  perseverance  and 
supplication  for  all  saints.''  These  words  of  the  Apostle  Paul 
stand  in  immediate  and  most  suggestive  connection  with 
the  magnificent  passage,  so  familiar  to  us  all,  regarding  the 
Christian's  warfare  and  armour.  As  a  Christian  soldier,  a 
Vicars  or  a  Havelock,  in  entering  on  an  ordinary  earthly 
battle,  would  pray  not  for  himself  alone,  but  for  all  his  fellow- 
soldiers,  feeling  that  they  form  one  army,  and  that  the  success 
of  one  is  the  success  of  all ;  so  in  the  grand  spiritual  warfare 
every  believer  is  constrained  to  pray  for  every  other.  The 
high  priest  of  the  Old  Economy  had  in  his  breastplate,  resting 
on  his  heart,  when  he  went  in  before  the  Lord  to  pray,  the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel, — a  fact  which  beautifully 
symbolized  the  tender  love  and  constant  care  with  which  our 
great  divine  High  Priest  continually  intercedes  for  His  people, 
none  of  them  forgotten,  none  of  them  even  for  a  moment  put 
aside.  We,  too,  who  in  Him  are  '  priests  unto  God,'  should — 
and  in  the  measure  of  the  liveliness  and  intelligence  of  our 
faith  we  do — cast  each  of  us  by  intercessory  prayer  his  little 
grain  of  incense  into  the  divine  High  Priest's  censer.  The  fact 
is  not  without  deep  significance,  my  brethren,  that  in  our  re- 
petition of  the  prayer  which  Jesus  taught  His  disciples,  we 
never  say  '  I '  or  'mine,'  but  always  with  our  own  wants  join 
those  of  all  everj^where,  who  through  the  common  Saviour 
trust  in  '  Our  Father  who  is  in  heaven.'  Illustrations  of  the 
power  of  intercessory  prayer  abound  in  the  Word  of  God.  One 
instance,  striking  in  itself,  and  closely  illustrative  of  the  case 
particularly  alluded  to  by  our  apostle,  that  of  prayer  for  fellow- 
believers  who  have  fallen  into  sin,  is  exhibited  to  us  in  God's 
statement  to  Job's  friends :  '  My  servant  Job  shall  pray  for 
you,  for  him  will  I  accept;  lest  I  deal  with  you  after  your 


4  r6         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

folly,  in  that  ye  have  not  spoken  of  Me  the  thing  which  is 
right,  like  My  servant  Job.' 

The  apostle's  recommendation  to  his  readers  to  '  pray  one 
for  another,'  he  proceeds  to  enforce  by  a  statement  of  the  great 
power  of  prayer,  illustrated  by  an  example.  Prayer,  he  says, 
'  availcth  imich^ — a  truth  most  precious  to  the  believing  heart. 
There  are  some  points  connected  with  it  which  we  cannot 
understand,  as  there  are  connected  with  everything  in  the 
relations  between  the  Infinite  One  and  His  moral  creatures ; 
but  nothing  is  more  plainly  revealed  in  Scripture,  than  that 
prayer  is  a  most  efficient  means  of  obtaining  blessing.  The 
praying  soul  is  through  the  very  exercise  refreshed,  purified, 
and  elevated,  feeling  itself  in  the  presence-chamber  of  the 
Divine  King  and  Father ;  and  besides  this  reflex  influence  of 
the  spiritual  act,  God  answers  prayer  in  the  strictest  and  most 
definite  sense.  '  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you,'  is  the  com- 
mand, with  the  promise.  It  is  evidently  of  this  direct  power 
that  the  apostle  is  mainly  thinking  here,  the  injunction  to  in- 
tercede with  God  for  blessings  on  brethren  having  led  him  to 
make  the  statement;  and  it  is  the  direct  power  which  the 
example  he  adduces  sets  with  liveliness  before  us. 

The  prayer  which  he  declares  to  '  avail  much '  is  that  of  '  a 
righteous  inaii^  by  which,  comparing  his  own  teaching  in  this 
Epistle  with  the  ordinary  use  of  the  expression  in  Scripture, 
^  we  know  him  to  mean  a  man  genuinely  pious — one  who  has  a 
faith  which  reveals  its  vitality  by  originating  and  sustaining  a 
godly  life.  Such  a  man,  being  a  child  of  God,  has  freedom  of 
access  to  his  Father,  and  will  not  be  '  sent  empty  away.'  *  The 
Lord  will  fulfil  the  desire  of  them  that  fear  Him.'  '  The 
prayer  of  the  upright  is  His  delight.'  But  '  if  I  regard  iniquity 
in  my  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear  me.'  For  successful 
prayer,  oneness  of  will  with  God  is  needful.  If  two  harps  be 
strung  to  the  same  key,  but  not  otherwise,  then  let  one  be 
struck,  and  the  other  will  give  a  responsive  sound.  Now  '  God 
is  love,'  and  the  substance  of  '  righteousness '  is  love,  for  '  love 
is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.' 

But  James  mentions  another  condition  of  success.      Not 


VERS.  1 7, 1 8.]    Confession  and  Prayer.  4 1 7 

merely  must  the  prayer  be  that  of  'a  righteous  man,'  but  it 
must  be  ^  effectual  ferverit.^  This  part  of  the  sentence  is  a 
somewhat  remarkable  exception  to  the  usual  admirable  felicity 
of  the  renderings  of  our  translators  :  for  these  two  words  are 
employed  to  represent  one  of  the  original ;  and  not  merely  is 
there  this  cumbrousness,  but  one  of  the  terms  chosen  plainly 
introduces  tautology  into  the  statement,  seeing  that '  an  effectual 
prayer  availeth  much  *  is  not  greatly  different  from  '  an  effec- 
tual prayer  is  effectual.'  The  double  rendering  arose  evidently 
from  uncertainty  regarding  the  exact  force  of  the  original  term, — 
an  uncertainty  which  probably  still  most  candid  students  share 
with  our  venerable  translators.  On  the  whole,  it  seems  to  me 
that  ^ fervent^  or  '  having  energy,^  is  the  idea  intended  by  the  / 
apostle  ;  and  by  his  specifying  this,  we  are  reminded  of  the 
melancholy  truth  that  even  '  righteous  men,'  the  true  children 
of  God,  are  prone  to  fall  into  spiritual  torpor,  so  that  their 
very  exercises  of  devotion  lack  energy  of  heart.  Alas,  what 
Christian  does  not  remember  times  when  his  praying  seemed 
to  be  little  more  than  mechanical, — when,  though  perhaps  the 
words  were  glowing,  the  soul  was  cold?  There  can  be  no 
power  in  such  prayer.  To  '  avail  much,'  the  '  righteous  man's ' 
cry  to  God  must  be  not  from  the  lip  merely,  but  clearly  and 
fully  from  the  heart — and  from  the  heart  with  its  longings 
gathered  up  and  concentrated  on  the  object  of  supplication. 
This  is  a  '  prayer  having  energy.'  The  symbol  for  all  time  of 
effectual  supplication  is  Jacob's  '  wrestling '  with  the  Angel ; 
and  God's  people  approve  themselves  to  be  indeed  the  spiri- 
tual '  Israel,'  '  princes  who  have  power  with  God,  and  prevail,' 
only  when,  like  Jacob,  they  cling  to  God,  saying,  '  I  will  not 
let  Thee  go,  except  Thou  bless  me.' 

The  example  of  the  power  of  prayer  which  James  introduces 
is  from  the  history  of  the  illustrious  prophet  Elijah.  At  the 
outset  he  obviates  an  objection  that  might  naturally  be  raised 
to  the  applicability  of  the  case.  He  feels  that  the  grandeur  of 
Elijah's  character,  the  stupendousness  of  his  miracles,  the  glory 
of  the  mode  of  his  departure  from  earth,  and  the  peculiar 
dignity  with  which  Jewish  superstition  invested  him  as  specially 

2  D 


4i8         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  v. 

the  guardian  of  Israel,  might  almost  place  him,  in  the  feelings 
of  the  Jewish  Christians,  in  a  class  of  beings  distinct  from  the 
human  race,  so  that  from  th^e  power  of  his  prayers  no  conclu- 
sion regarding  ours  could  fairly  be  drawn.  This  possible  and 
probable  difficulty  the  apostle  removes  at  once  by  his  intro- 
ductory remark,  that  '  Elias  was  a  man  subject  to  like  passions 
as  we  are^ — a  man,  not  an  angel — and  a  man  of  a  nature  like 
other  men,  with  all  the  weaknesses  that  belong  to  humanity  as 
we  now  find  it  in  the  world.  Similarly  Peter  said  to  Cornelius, 
when  he  fell  down  at  his  feet  and  worshipped  him,  '  Stand  up, 
I  myself  also  am  a  man ;'  and  Paul  and  Barnabas  said  to  the 
people  of  Lystra,  who  were  about  to  sacrifice  to  them,  '  Sirs, 
why  do  ye  these  things?  We  also  are  ijiejt  of  like  passions  with 
-you^ — exactly  the  expression  here  used  by  James  of  Elijah. 
An  interesting  evidence  that  by  our  apostle  the  Lord  Jesus  was 
held  to  possess  an  ineffable  dignity  of  nature,  is  afforded  by 
comparing  this  description  of  Elijah,  a  man  certainly  in  every 
point  of  view  one  of  the  very  noblest  of  our  race,  with  the 
name  applied  to  the  Saviour  in  the  first  verse  of  the  second 
chapter,  '  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  of  glory.' 

In  the  history  of  this  'righteous  man'  Elijah  the  power  of 
■*  fervent  prayer '  was  signally  shown  :  '  He  prayed  earnestly  ' 
{observe  the  prominence  given  to  the  '  fervent '  character  of 
the  entreaty)  '  that  it  might  not  raiu,  and  it  rained  not  on  the 
earth '  (rather,  probably,  '  on  the  land '  of  Canaan, — a  frequent 
use  of  the  original  term  in  Scripture)  ^  by  the  space  of  three  years 
and  six  months;  and  he  prayed  again,  and  the  heaven  gave  rain, 
and  the  earth  brought  forth  her  friiit.^  The  immediate  echo- 
like answer  that  comes  to  such  prayer  as  Elijah's  is  vividly  ex- 
hibited by  the  language  employed,  '  He  prayed  earnestly  that 
it  might  not  rain,  and  it  rained  not^ — recalling  to  us  at  once 
the  sublime  '  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light,'  and  thus 
suggesting  the  almightiness  of  the  prayer  that  lays  hold  of  the 
almightiness  of  God.  The  potency  of  the  prayer  is  further 
indicated  by  the  mention  of  the  great  length  of  time  during 
which  the  drought  that  had  been  asked  for  continued,  and,  in 
the  account  of  the  effects  of  the  second  petition,  by  the  de- 


VERS.  1 7, 1 8.]    Confession  and  Prayer.  4 1 9 

tailed  statement  that  all  the  elements  and  powers  of  nature 
yielded  loyally  to  the  imperial  power  of  prayer :  *  The  heaven 
gave  rain,  and  the  earth  brought  forth  her  fruit,' 

The  statement  made  in  this  passage,  and  also  in  our  Lord's 
address  to  the  people  of  Nazareth,  as  recorded  by  Luke  (iv. 
25),  regarding  the  duration  of  the  drought,  appears  on  first 
sight  to  be  at  variance  with  that  given  in  the  Old  Testament 
narrative,  where  we  are  told  that  '  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
unto  Elijah  in  the  third  year,  saying,  Go,  show  thyself  unto 
Ahab;  and  I  will  send  rain  upon  the  earth'  (i  Kings  xviii.  i). 
A  satisfactory  solution  of  the  difficulty,  however,  is  afforded 
by  the  supposition,  which  is  in  every  way  probable,  that  in  the 
specification  of  time  in  the  passage  in  First  Kings  the  reckon- 
ing is  made  not  from  the  beginning  of  the  drought,  but  from  " 
the  period  when  the  prophet  left  the  brook  Cherith  and  went 
to  live  with  the  widow  at  Zarephath. 

The  fact  that  Elijah  prayed  to  God  to  withhold  rain  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  was  no  doubt  preserved 
by  Jewish  tradition,  which  is  here  accepted  and  authenticated 
by  the  inspired  apostle ;  just  as,  for  example,  the  names  of  the 
magicians  of  Pharaoh — the  fact  that  at  Mount  Sinai,  amid  the 
awful  splendours  of  the  manifestation  of  God,  Moses  said,  '  I 
exceedingly  fear  and  quake ' — and  the  prophecy  of  Enoch  re- 
garding the  Lord's  coming  to  judgment, — are  known  to  us  only 
through  the  New  Testament. •"•  In  the  narrative  of  the  inci- 
dents preceding  the  return  of  rain  there  is  no  express  mention 
of  the  offering  up  of  prayer  by  the  prophet ;  but  every  reader 
feels  that,  when  '  he  cast  himself  down  upon  the  earth,  and 
put  his  face  between  his  knees,'  he  was  pleading  with  God 
with  intense  fervour,  and  that  here  indeed  lies  the  very  life 
of  that  portion  of  the  history. 

Before  Elijah  left  Zarephath,  he  had  been  told  by  God,  in 
words  quoted  a  little  above,  that  rain  was  about  to  be  given  to 
the  thirsty  earth ;  and  accordingly  his  petition  on  Carmel  must 
have  been  that  Jioia  Jehovah  would  fulfil  His  promise.  Sub- 
stantially, this  is  the  sum  of  all  prayer.  The  longing,  '  Thy 
'  See  2  Tim.  iii.  8j  Heb.  xii,  21 ;  Jude  14. 


42 o         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,     [ch.  v. 

will  be  done,'  is  of  the  essence  of  all  acceptable  supplication ; 
and  hence  no  petition  can  be  offered  by  any  intelligent  be- 
liever absolutely,  without  reservations,  except  such  as  is  matter 
of  definite  promise.  When  a  wrestling  soul  would  '  bring  forth 
its  strong  reasons'  before  the  'King  of  Jacob,'  it  turns  in- 
stinctively to  His  own  declarations  of  grace.  Prayer  answers 
promise,  as  fulfilment  answers  prayer.  'Surely  I  come  quickly;' 
'Amen,  even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus.'  In  regard  to  the  first  of 
Elijah's  prayers  which  James  mentions,  that  for  the  withholding 
of  rain,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  from  the  peculiar  nature 
of  the  petition,  that  it  had  been  made  known  to  the  prophet 
by  revelation  that  a  judgment  of  this  kind  would  be  tributary 
to  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel,  through  the  spiritual  profiting 
of  His  people.  Thus  he  was  fully  authorized  to  present  his 
prayer.  One  may  safely  say,  that  without  such  special  revela- 
tion of  the  divine  will  there  can  scarcely  occur  circumstances 
in  which  it  would  be  right  or  wise — in  which  it  would  not  be 
signally  unwise  and  wrong — to  offer  such  a  petition.  To  all 
who,  without  the  peculiar  commission  and  direction  of  Elias, 
are  disposed,  in  fancied  zeal  for  the  Lord  God  of  hosts,  to 
invoke  drought,  or  to  '  command  fire  to  come  down  from  " 
heaven  and  consume  the  adversaries,  even  as  Elias  did,'  Jesus 
says,  'Ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of  Such  a 
disposition  has  a  much  closer  connection  with  arrogance  and 
bigotry,  with  the  '  wrath  of  man,'  which  '  worketh  not  the  right- 
eousness of  God,'  than  with  '  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above, 
peaceable,  gentle,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits.' 

Both  of  the  apostle's  references  to  the  history  of  Elijah 
obviously  illustrate  very  strikingly  his  declaration,  that  'the 
fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much.'  The  second 
of  them  has  a  special  suitableness  and  force  in  the  connection 
in  which  it  is  introduced.  He  has  been  enjoining  on  his 
readers  to  '  pray  one  for  another,  that  they  might  be  healed,' 
particularly  of  spiritual  torpor  and  disease.  How  cheering, 
then,  the  thought  that,  if  the  energy  of  Elijah's  prayer  brought 
rain  to  refresh  the  parched  earth  and  revive  a  people  ready  to 
perish,  not  less  certainly  the  prayer  of  faith  can  bring  down 


VERS.  1 7, 1 8.]    Confession  and  Prayer.  42 1 

not  merely  on  the  petitioning  heart,  but  on  many  souls  besides, 
the  genial  showers  of  the  Spirit's  gracious  influences  ! — for  God 
has  promised,  saying,  '  I  will  be  as  the  dew  unto  Israel :  he 
shall  grow  as  the  lily,  and  cast  forth  his  roots  as  Lebanon.  I 
will  pour  water  upon  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  upon  the 
dry  ground  :  I  will  pour  My  Spirit  upon  thy  seed,  and  My 
blessing  upon  thine  offspring ;  and  they  shall  spring  up  as 
among  the  grass,  as  willows  by  the  water-courses.' 


42  2         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  J  antes,      [ch.  v. 


XXXI. 
ERROR  AND   CONVERSION. 

•  Brethren,  if  any  of  you  do  err  from  the  truth,  and  one  convert  him  ; 
20  Let  him  know,  that  he  which  converteth  the  sinner  from  the 
error  of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a  multi- 
tude of  sins.' — ^James  v.  19,  20. 

THE  connection  of  these  words  with  what  precedes  is  not 
far  to  seek.  The  apostle  has  recommended  to  the 
brethren  mutual  confession  of  sin,  and  that  they  should  ask 
for  each  other  in  prayer  forgiveness  of  sin  and  spiritual 
strength.  Sin,  and  desire  for  the  deliverance  of  others  as 
well  as  ourselves  from  sin,  being  thus  the  subjects  occupying 
his  mind,  he  very  naturally  passes  on  next  to  impress  on  his 
readers  how  great  a  thing  it  is  to  be  the  instrument  in  God's 
hand  of  bringing  back  a  sinner  to  his  heavenly  Father  ;  and 
with  this  he  fittingly  closes  his  letter.  His  own  aim,  through- 
out all  that  he  has  written,  has  most  obviously  and  directly 
been  to  stimulate  Christians  to  higher  attainments  in  godli- 
ness, and  to  arouse  to  sincere  repentance  those  who  only  had 
*a  name  to  live;'  and  nothing  can  be  more  meet  than  that 
he  should  conclude  with  an  appeal  to  all  God's  children  whom 
his  words  might  reach,  to  do  similar  work  in  their  various 
spheres,  and  by  the  various  means  that  God  might  put  in  their 
power. 

The  form  of  this  concluding  exhortation  is  a  little  peculiar, 
— the  peculiarity,  as  you  will  see  on  a  moment's  consideration, 
being  advantageous  to  its  effect.  In  the  first  part,  contained 
in  the  nineteenth  verse,  James  continues  that  style  of  direct 
address  to  his  readers  which  has  prevailed  throughout  the 
Epistle,  thus  securing  that  his  statement  or  appeal  will  have 
for  their  consciences  and  hearts  the  special  force  always  be- 


VERS.  19, 20.]  Error  a7id  Conversion.  423 

longing  to  what  is  distinctly  intended  for  ourselves.  Then 
the  second  part  is  in  form  altogether  general.  The  erring 
professing  Christian,  the  '  any  of  you  '  of  the  nineteenth  verse, 
is  in  the  twentieth  classed  under  the  far  wider  term  '  sinner  ; ' 
and  the  expressing  of  the  subject,  '  he  which  converteth,'  makes 
this  part  a  sentence  quite  complete  in  itself.  Thus  we  have 
a  truth  of  the  greatest  importance  condensed  into  a  shape 
striking  and  easily  remembered  :  *  He  which  converteth  a 
sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death, 
and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins.'  There  are  in  the  New 
Testament  many  of  these  summaries  of  truth,  so  drawn  out 
as  to  be  complete  in  themselves,  and  thus  carrying  with  them 
their  full  significance,  or  at  least  a  very  ample  significance, 
even  when  quoted  apart  from  the  context  in  which  they 
occur :  and  in  these  we  see  an  evidence  of  the  watchful  care 
of  God,  providing  for  all  the  wants  of  His  children.  Even  we 
in  these  latter  days,  though  we  have  Bibles  in  abundance, 
find  very  great  advantage  in  these  condensed  statements — 
in  such  '  little  gospels,'  for  example,  as,  '  God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son^  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  hfe.' 
It  is  plain,  then,  that  they  must  have  been  vastly  more  re- 
quired in  the  first  ages  of  the  church,,  when  copies  of  even 
a  single  Gospel  or  Epistle  could  be  possessed  by  only  a  few 
persons,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  great  majority  of  believers,  the 
bread  of  life  for  daily  sustenance  must  have  been  simply  the 
truth  borne  in  memory  from  public  reading  and  exposition. 
In  circumstances  like  these,  it  must  manifestly  have  been  of 
immeasurable  benefit  to  have  such  portable  statements  of 
truth  as  that  before  us.  Those  given  in  Scripture,  and 
others  provided  for  the  necessities  of  the  time  by  the  in- 
spired teachers,  constituted  in  all  likelihood  the  class  known 
by  the  special  name  of  '  faithful  sayings,'  of  which  Paul  in 
the  Pastoral  Epistles  quotes  several,  obviously  as  precious 
commonplaces  of  the  church's  faith,  '  familiar  in  their  mouths 
as  household  words.' 

One  other  remark  on  the  form  of  the  passage   it  seems 


424         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

desirable  to  make.  I  have  spoken  of  it  as  an  appeal  or 
exhortation.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  an  exhibition  of  the 
grounds  of  satisfaction  and  thankfulness  possessed  by  the 
Christian  who  has  reclaimed  an  erring  brother  :  '  If  any  of 
you  do  err  from  the  truth,  and  one  convert  him,  let  him  (him 
who  has  thus  gained  his  brother)  know.'  But  this  is,  in  effect, 
plainly  an  incitement  to  all  Christians,  by  the  setting  forth  of 
the  most  powerful  motives,  to  labour  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners. 

When  we  proceed  to  consider  the  passage  in  detail,  the  first 
thing  that  strikes  us  is  the  importance  that  the  apostle  obvi- 
ously ascribes  to  apprehending  and  cleaving  to  '  the  truth.^ 
You  observe  that  '■to  err  (or  wander) /;'(?;;?  the  truth''  is  employed 
by  him  clearly  as  having  much  the  same  force  as  '  to  wander 
away  from  Christianity,  as  an  agency  for  producing  moral 
elevation  and  true  happiness  ; '  and  *  the  error  (or  wandering — 
from  the  truth,  obviously,  in  the  connection)  of  a  man's  way''  is 
that  which  constitutes  him  '  a  shmer.'  The  sense  of  the  pas- 
sage shows  clearly  enough  (and,  if  confirmation  be  needed,  it 
is  afforded  by  the  apostle's  use  of  the  expression  elsewhere  in 
the  Epistle^)  that  by  '  the  truth'  he  means  not  'truthfulness' 
merely,  but  either  '  the  body  of  revealed  truth,'  or  '  the  kind  of 
character,  in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  which  religious  truth, 
received  in  the  love  of  it,  naturally  forms.'  The  expression  is 
used  frequently,  as  you  will  remember,  in  the  writings  of  the 
other  apostles  also  in  one  or  other  of  these  senses ;  and  indeed 
it  was  evidently  the  ordinary,  or  at  least  a  very  familiar,  phrase 
in  the  primitive  church  to  designate  *  the  gospel,'  either  looked 
at  simply  by  itself,  or  as  influencing  men's  hearts  and  moulding 
their  lives. 

In  our  day,  the  opponents  of  evangelical  religion  very  often 
take  up  the  ground  that  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  what  our 
views  of  truth  are, — of  no  consequence  what  we  believe,  or 
whether  we  believe  anything,  provided  our  life  is  honourable. 
This  principle  pervades  very  much  of  the  teaching  regarding 
religion  in  our  popular  literature.  It  is  often  avowed,  for 
'  See  iii.  14. 


VER.  I9-]  Error  and  Conversion.  425 

example,  in  defence  of  the  freedom  given  in  the  Church  of 
England  for  the  teaching  of  almost  all  varieties  of  doctrine. 
*  A  national  religious  association,'  the  defenders  of  the  present 
state  of  things  say,  '  should  comprise  holders  of  all  shades  of 
belief;  for  its  purpose  is  not  to  inculcate  particular  doctrinal 
tenets,  but  simply  to  secure  throughout  the  country  the  pre- 
sence of  educated  gentlemen,  all  teaching  the  people  to  live 
sober  and  respectable  lives,  to  be  upright  and  industrious,  kind 
to  their  neighbours,  and  obedient  to  their  rulers.'  Among 
another  and  spiritually  higher  class  than  those  who  entertain 
such  defective  views  of  the  nature  and  purposes  of  the  church 
of  Christ,  positions  of  this  kind  are  very  popular, — that  religion 
is  but  little  a  matter  of  the  understanding,  but  almost  solely  of 
the  heart ;  that  doctrines  have  been  the  seeds  of  all  the  con- 
troversies and  heartburnings  that  have  disfigured  the  history  of 
the  church,  whereas  charity  is  the  essence  of  Christianity,  for 
'  God  is  love ; '  that  Jesus  said,  '  I  am  the  truth,'  and  those 
therefore  who  have  Him  in  their  hearts  have  the  truth.  All 
of  you  who  have  any  acquaintance  with  the  literature  of  what 
calls  itself  the  '  Broad  School '  of  religious  thinkers  are  familiar 
with  writing  of  this  kind.  Now  such  words  contain  much  that 
is  important,  much  that  is  true ;  and  just  here,  in  the  truth 
and  preciousness  of  many  of  the  statements,  when  understood 
in  their  proper  relation  to  Bible  teaching  generally,  lies  their 
great  power  to  mislead  when  distorted  from  that  relation. 
When  put  forward  to  depreciate  the  importance  of  knowing 
and  cherishing  doctrinal  truth,  propositions  of  the  kind  I  have 
quoted  rest  on  a  false  assumption, — this,  namely,  that  apart 
from  the  perception  and  belief  of  truth  by  the  mind,  the  heart 
can  become  pure,  and  loving,  and  holy  before  God.  Now, 
according  to  the  plain  teaching  of  such  passages  of  Scripture 
as  that  before  us — according  to  the  whole  tenor  of  Scripture 
indeed,  as  well  as  the  declarations  of  experience — the  know- 
ledge and  belief  of  certain  grand  truths  are  absolutely  needful 
to  produce  holy  affections.  The  man  who  has  Jesus  in  his 
heart  has  '  the  truth  ;'  but  Jesus  enters  the  seat  of  the  affec- 
tions through  the  mind — through  the  intelligent  behef  of  such 


426         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [cii.  v. 

truth  regarding  Him  as  dispels  the  atmosphere  of  falsehood 
which  by  nature  filled  the  whole  soul.  '  If  ye  continue  in  My 
word,'  said  Jesus,  '  then  are  ye  My  disciples  indeed  ;  and  ye 
shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  youfree.^  It  is 
plainly  implied  that  nothing  else  can. 

Round  truth  controversy  gathers,  and  controversy  is  very 
often  painful.  But  it  by  no  means  follows  that  true  Christian 
happiness  or  true  Christian  love  can  rest  better  on  the  basis 
of  a  mere  vague  and  dreamy  sentiment  than  on  truth  believed, 
— or  indeed  can  rest  on  any  such  basis  at  all.  Jesus,  the 
incarnate  Love,  the  Prince  of  peace,  spent  very  much  of  His 
public  life  in  controversy.  His  apostles,  too,  lived  much  in 
controversy.  John,  to  whom  of  all  the  followers  of  the  Lord 
we  should,  from  what  we  know  of  his  character,  look  first 
for  the  manifestation  of  a  true  and  beautiful  charity,  says  in 
one  of  his  letters,  '  Whosoever  transgresseth  and  abideth  not 
in  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  hath  not  God;'  and  proceeds  to 
charge  thus  the  friends  to  whom  he  writes  regarding  the 
heretical  teachers  who  abounded  at  the  time  :  '  If  there  come 
any  unto  you,  and  bring  not  this  doctrine'  (the  '  doctrine  of 
Christ,'  just  mentioned),  'receive  him  not  into  your  house, 
neither  bid  him  God  speed ;  for  he  that .  biddeth  him  God 
speed  is  partaker  of  his  evil  deeds.'  Controversy  in  which 
sentiments  like  these  are  propounded  with  intense  earnestness 
by  one  of  so  loving  a  character,  certainly  proceeds  on  the 
supposition  that  some  truths  are  of  essential  moment,  vitally 
important  for  the  peace  and  joy  of  the  soul,  for  the  existence 
and  growth  of  godliness  and  spiritual  beauty.  As  I  have 
been  led  to  refer  to  John's"  eminently  clear  and  instructive 
testimony  on  this  question,  let  him  speak  to  us  further  as  to 
what  are  these  cardinal  truths.  Such  as  these  :  '  If  we  say  that 
we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in 
us  :'  'In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God:''  'And  the  Word  was  made 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  full  of  grace  and  truth  :'  '  And  He 
is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also 


VER.  19-]  Error  and  Conversion.  427 

for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  :'  '  If  we  confess  our  sins,  God 
is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us 
from  all  unrighteousness,'  seeing  that  'we  have  an  Advocate 
with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  Righteous:'  'And  he  that 
keepeth  God's  commandments  dwelleth  in  Him,  and  He  in 
him;  and  hereby  we  know  that  He  abideth  in  us,  by  the 
Spirit  which  He  hath  given  us.'  Such  truths  as  these,  in  their 
connection  and  ramifications,  as  fully  exhibited  in  Scripture, 
constitute  the  '  doctrine  of  Christ,'  which  it  is  of  transcendent 
importance  that  a  man  know,  and  believe,  and  abide  in,  seeing 
that  he  who  abides  therein  '  hath  both  the  Father  and  the  Son  ' 
(2  John  9). 

From  its  nature,  this  truth,  when  believed,  exercises  supreme 
influence  over  the  affections  of  the  heart  and  in  the  regulation 
of  the  life,  producing  love  to  God  and  devotion  to  His  will. 
But  obviously  it  can  do  this  only  when  believed.  Till  then, 
however  fully  known,  it  cannot  hold  sway ;  for  it  is  not  truth 
to  me — it  remains  a  thing  external  to  me — until  I  believe  it. 
And  in  proportion  to  the  intelligence  and  the  realizing  liveli- 
ness of  our  faith,  will  be  the  measure  of  power  exerted  over  us 
by  the  truth  believed.  *  Error,'  then,  in  one  who  has  professed 
himself  a  Christian  (and  to  this  class  James  specially  refers  in 
the  passage  before  us  :  'If  any  of  you  do  err  from  the  truth '), 
may  show  itself  in  two  ways.  There  may  be  definite  disbelief, 
definite  acceptance  of  falsehood,  such  as  that  of  Hymenaeus 
and  Philetus  in  Paul's  days,  who,  as  the  apostle  tells  Timothy, 

*  concerning  the  truth  have  erred,  saying  that  the  resurrection 
is  past  already,  and  overthrow  the  faith  of  some'  (2  Tim.  ii.  18). 
Through  the  prevalent  intellectual  restlessness  of  our  time, 
illustrations  abound  of  this  kind  of  error,  in  the  most  varied 
directions.  The  young  Christian,  in  particular,  is  in  much 
peril  of  being  led  seriously  astray ;  and  it  becomes  us  all  very 
earnestly,  by  candid  and  diligent  study  of  the  word  of  God,  to 

*  build  ourselves  up  on  our  most  holy  faith, — praying  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.'  But  again,  even  whilst  the  creed  continues  sound,  at 
least  even  where  a  man  has  no  consciousness  of  intellectual 


428         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  ya7nes.      [ch.  v. 

deviation,  there  may  be  real  and  most  serious  *  wandering ' 
from  'the  truth,'  through  worldhness  and  torpor  of  spirit, 
rendering  the  creed  practically  a  dead  thing.  The  Apostle 
John,  you  remember,  tells  us  that  his  great  delight  was  to 
hear  that  his  spiritual  children  '  walked  in  truth '  (3  John  4, 
and  2  John  4), — having  it,  that  is,  as  an  atmosphere,  in  which 
they  lived  and  moved,  and  by  which  they  were  every  moment 
sustained.  In  so  far  as  this  is  not  the  case  with  us,  in  so  far 
as  in  feeling  or  practice  we  are  not  pervaded  and  governed  by 
*  the  truth,'  and  thus  approve  ourselves  '  children  of  light,'  we 
are  in  '  error,'  wanderers  from  '  the  truth,'  as  really  as  if  we 
definitely  disbelieved  it.  There  is  something  of  this  in  all 
Christians ;  the  best  of  us  '  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God  ;' 
and  alas,  my  brethren,  there  are  lamentably  many  bearing  the 
Christian  name,  and  believing  themselves  to  hold  Christian 
truth,  whose  lives  seem  rather  those  of  '  children  of  darkness.' 
In  all — whether  calling  themselves  Christians  or  not — who  do 
not  sincerely  love  God,  the  whole  course  of  life  is  necessarily 
one  of  *  error.'  '  Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
and  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Wandering^  and  all  other  enemies  of 
God  do  likewise.  They  stray  in  devious  paths  after  shadows, 
'seeking  rest  and  finding  none,'  until,  unless  divine  grace 
check  them  in  their  folly,  'their  feet  stumble  on  the  dark 
mountains.'  Let  us  then  cleave  to  'the  truth,' dear  brethren, 
in  faith  and  in  practice.  We  rejoice  to  believe  in  the  certain 
perseverance  of  the  saints  in  a  state  of  grace,  but  we  know 
that  this  is  a  perseverance  in  child-like  submission  to  the 
enlightening  and  sanctifying  power  of  the  truth.  Let  us 
therefore  '  watch  and  pray,  lest  we  enter  into  temptation,'  re- 
membering that  no  doom  is  so  terrible  as  that  of  the  apostate 
professor  of  religion,  '  who  hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son 
of  God,  and  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of  grace.' 

Our  apostle  directs  the  attention  of  his  readers  to  the  blessed 
results  of  ^  converti7ig  a  sm?ier  from  the  error  of  his  way!'  It 
is  evident  that  he  has  before  his  mind  error  of  the  most  serious 
kind,  whether  of  creed  or  conduct,  or  both.     To  ^convert  a 


VER.  20.]  Error  and  Conversion.  429 

sinner''  is  God's  work,  for  no  arm  but  that  of  the  Ahnighty 
can  arrest  him,  and  turn  him  from  his  '  error '  to  '  the  truth.' 
But  He  graciously  employs  human  agency  in  the  work, 
to  exhibit  and  enforce  the  truth  to  mind  and  heart.  The 
Spirit  of  God  alone  is  the  power  that  quickens  the  vines ;  but 
the  Divine  Husbandman  employs  His  children  in  the  culture, 
saying  to  every  one  of  them,  'Son,  go  work  to-day  in  My 
vineyard.'  He  permits  us  (and  this  is  surely  the  highest  con- 
ceivable honour  for  His  moral  creatures)  to  be  'labourers 
together  with  Him ; '  and  to  all  earnest  workers  He  gives  no 
stinted  praise,  speaking  often  of  the  work  that  was  done  only 
in  and  through  Himself  as  their  work.  To  Paul,  Jesus  said, 
that  He  sent  him  to  the  Gentiles  'to  open  their  eyes,  and 
to  turn  them  ("convert"  them — the  same  word  as  here)  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God' 
(Acts  xxvi.  18).  Similarly  of  John  the  Baptist,  before  his 
birth,  it  was  predicted  by  the  angel  to  Zacharias  :  '  He  shall  be 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  even  from  his  mother's  womb,  and 
many  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  he  turn  (convert)  to  the 
Lord  their  God'  (Luke  i.  15,  16). 

'Let  believers,  then,'  says  our  apostle,  ' for  their  incitement 
to  earnestness  and  perseverance  in  the  work  of  God,  consider 
this,  that  whosoever  is  instrumental  in  converting  a  sinner  from 
the  error  of  his  ways,  shall  save  a  soul  from  deaths  By  nature, 
as  you  know,  brethren,  we  are  all  spiritually  dead.  God  made 
man  'a  living  soul;'  and  in  Eden  all  the  elements  of  his  being 
sounded  forth,  in  grand,  rich,  unbroken  harmony,  an  anthem  to 
the  praise  of  his  Father  in  heaven.  He  served  God  perfectly, 
and  in  the  service  had  perfect  joy.     That  was  life.     But 

'  Disproportioned  sin 
Jarred  against  nature's  chime,  and  with  harsh  din 
Broke  the  fair  music  that  all  creatures  made 
To  their  great  Lord,  whose  love  their  motion  swayed 
In  perfect  diapason,  whilst  they  stood 
In  first  obedience,  and  their  state  of  good.' ^ 


^  Milton's  Lines  at  a  Solann  Mustek, 


430         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  James,      [ch.  v. 

For  moral  creatures  such  discord  is  death;  and  thus  we  are  all 
now,  by  nature,  '  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.'  From  this  death 
conversion  delivers  at  once :  for  the  Saviour's  declaration  was, 
'  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  believeth  on  Me  hath 
everlasting  life '  (John  vi.  47).  The  apostle,  however,  seems 
to  have  mainly  before  his  mind  that  intensity  of  debasement 
and  misery  in  the  world  to  come,  to  which  by  fair  natural 
development  this  spiritual  death  of  earth  leads,— that  unutter- 
ably awful  condition  which  the  Lord,  '  the  Faithful  Witness,' 
describes  as  '  outer  darkness,  where  shall  be  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth,  where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is 
not  quenched,'  and  which  His  servant  John  calls  '  the  second 
death.'  A  person  who  rescues  a  fellow-creature  from  imminent 
danger  of  physical  death,  has  justly  very  high  satisfaction  in 
the  remembrance ;  yet  this  is  but  deliverance,  for  the  body — 
but  the  prolongation  for,  at  the  furthest,  a  few  years,  of  a  life 
in  which  there  will  be  much  weariness,  and  care,  and  sorrow. 
How  rich  must  be  the  blessedness,  then,  of  him  who,  by 
'  converting  a  sinner,'  '  saves  his  soul  from  death,' — rescuing, 
and  that  for  ever,  not  the  body  merely,  but  the  'glory'  of 
man,  as  the  Psalmist  has  it,  the  rational  spirit  on  which  God 
imprinted  His  own  likeness,  from  the  horrors  of  the  place 
of  woe ! 

'  And  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins^  These  words  are  em- 
ployed, with  a  different  application,  by  the  Apostle  Peter  (i 
Pet.  iv.  8);  and  we  may  reasonably  suppose,  therefore,  that 
the  phrase — founded,  as  Peter's  use  of  it  in  particular  plainly 
enough  indicates,  on  Prov.  x.  12,  'Love  covereth  all  sins' — 
was  a  familiar  one  among  religious  Jews.  The  language,  as 
employed  in  any  of  the  places,  may,  when  taken  apart  from 
its  connection,  be  referred  to  with  some  plausibility,  and  as 
a  matter  of  fact  very  often  is  referred  to,  as  intimating  what 
the  arrogance  of  the  carnal  mind  would  delight  to  find  in  the 
Bible — that  salvation  is  through  man's  works,  and  not  of  God's 
free  grace.  The  '  sins '  are,  on  this  view,  regarded  as  those  of 
the  person  in  whom  the  '  love  '  or  '  charity  '  reigns ;  or,  in  the 


VER.  20.]  Error  and  Conve7^sioit.  431 

present  passage,  who  shows  his  love  by  *  converting '  a  brother. 
But  a  Httle  consideration  will  show  that  in  none  of  the  places 
is  this  the  writer's  reference.  In  the  passages  in  Proverbs  and 
the  Epistle  of  Peter  there  cannot  be  a  moment's  doubt,  when 
the  context  is  looked  at,  that  it  is  the  sins  of  those  for  whom 
the  love  is  entertained  which  are  covered  ;  and  in  James  also 
the  natural  and  obvious  interpretation  of  the  clause  is  to  take 
it  as  bringing  out  more  explicitly  the  force  of  the  preceding, 
'  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,' — an  interpretation  which,  when 
we  look  at  it  in  the  light  afforded  by  the  certain  reference  of 
the  phrase  in  the  other  places,  cannot  but  be  deemed  by  a 
candid  student  to  be  itself  certain.  Here,  as  well  as  every- 
where else,  careful  and  honest  scrutiny  of  our  apostle's  words 
shows  him  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  general  teaching 
of  Scripture. 

'  Blessed,'  says  David,  '  is  he  whose  transgression  is  forgiven, 
whose  shi  is  covered.^  This  is  the  '  rover ing^  or  '  hiding,^  spoken 
of  by  James.  Manifestly,  therefore,  it  is  God's  act ;  and  in 
James's  statement,  that  the  Christian  who  '  converts  a  sinner ' 
'shall  hide'  that  sinner's  sins,  the  'hide'  is  employed,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  apostle's  general  liveliness  of  expression,  for 
'  bringing  about  the  hiding.'  By  leading  the  sinner  to  repent- 
ance he  brings  him  within  the  sphere  of  God's  covenant  mercy, 
which  '  hides  his  sins,'  so  that  God  looks  upon  them  no  more. 
In  the  ancient  'Holy  of  Holies'*  gospel  grace  was  typified  by 
the  fact  that  the  tables  of  the  law,  placed  in  the  ark,  were 
'  covered '  by  the  blood-besprinkled  mercy-seat,  above  which 
shone  the  Shekinah,  the  special  symbol  of  the  divine  presence. 
So,  in  looking  upon  all  who,  through  the  work  of  His  Spirit, 
have  believed  in  Jesus,  God  sees  not  their  wickedness  calling 
for  punishment,  but  the  Saviour's  perfect  righteousness,  which 
'  hides '  their  sins. 

And  in  every  case  these  sins  are  '  a  jnuliiiude.''  However 
morally  correct  the  outward  conduct  of  the  unregenerate  man 
may  be,  however  noble  in  some  respects  his  aspirations,  yet 
love  to  God  does  not  hold  sway  in  his  heart,  and  thus  he  is 


432         Lectures  on  the  Epistle  of  Javtes.      [ch.  v. 

constantly  disobedient  to  the  'first  and  great  commandment.' 
The  regenerate  man,  too,  though  the  love  of  God  is  supreme 
in  his  heart,  yet  is  guilty  of  many  shortcomings  and  slips  in 
his  Father's  service  :  '  In  many  things  we  offend  all.'  And  the 
more  fully  that  He  '  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  ot 
darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,' 
ever  the  more  clearly,  in  that  '  marvellous  light,'  do  we  see  the 
intensity  of  the  darkness  from  which  God's  grace  has  brought 
us  out,  and  the  '  multitude'  and  abominableness  of  the  sins 
committed  under  it,  and  also  the  greatness  of  the  darkness 
which  we  still  permit  to  remain  in  the  corners  and  crannies  of 
our  souls  and  lives.  '  Job  answered  the  Lord,  and  said,  I  have 
heard  of  Thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye 
seeth  Thee ;  wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and 
ashes.' 

But  however  many  or  however  heinous  our  sins  may  be,  the 
mercy  of  God  in  Christ  can  '  cover'  them  all,  and  will  do  this 
for  every  one  who  believes  the  gospel.  '  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  God's  Son,  cleanseth  from  all  sin.'  Beyond  all  question, 
then,  '  he  which  converteth  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way, 
shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of 
sins.' 

You  cannot  but  feel  how  efficient  a  stimulus  there  is  in  these 
words  to  earnest,  persevering,  prayerful  effort  for  the  spiritual 
good  of  those  around  us.  If  we  saw  our  neighbour  carefully 
cultivating  a  tree  in  his  garden  which  he  took  for  a  good  apple 
tree,  but  we  knew  to  bear  fruit  that  was  deadly  poison, — or  if  we 
saw,  and  he  did  not,  that  his  house  was  on  fire,  and,  if  active 
measures  were  not  immediately  taken,  would  be  burned  down, 
— we  should  certainly  think  it  the  dictate  of  common  humanity 
to  warn  him.  Believing,  then,  that  sin's  fruit  is  bitter  here, 
and  will  be  unutterably  and  unendingly  bitter  hereafter ;  be- 
lieving that  sinners  are  every  day  fanning  a  fire  which,  if  they 
continue  impenitent,  must  devour  for  ever,  and  '  burn  unto  the 
lowest  hell,' — can  we,  standing  by,  remain  calm  and  silent  ?    Is 


VER.  20.]  Error  and  Conversion.  433 

it  Christian  to  say,  or  act  as  if  we  said,  '  Am  I  my  brother's 
keeper?'  Certainly,  my  brethren,  in  so  far  as  we  have  the 
'  Spirit  of  Christ,'  we  shall,  as  God  gives  us  opportunity,  show  to 
the  '  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins'  Him  who  is  '  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Life,'  feeling  it  to  be  of  all  delights  the  most  exquisite 
'  to  save  a  soul  from  death.'  '  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as 
the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to 
righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever.'  Wherefore  '  Let 
him  that  heareth  say,  Come.' 


THE    END. 


MURRAY  AND   GIBB,    EDINBURGH, 

PRINTERS   TO   HER   MAJESTY'S   STATIONERY   OFFICE. 

2     E 


Date  Due 


?^j  1 A  'm 


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Lectures 


exegetical  and  practical 

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